Blow your tears
by eggylaine
Summary: The sequel to On your doorstep. Dean is left to take care of his three year old son. Now he has to protect his family from an unknown evil. Teenchesters
1. Chapter 1

**So here it is, finally! The sequel to 'on your doorstep', if you haven't read that one then this is what you want to know: Chloe, one of Dean's flings showed up about four years after he had left her with a three year old boy, Dean's son James. She left and Dean went to find her, found out she was being abused and brought James to Dean to save him. She left Dean with the message to never look back. When Dean went back for her, he found she and her father had died in a housefire Chloe apparently had started. **

**Blow your tears is the continuation of this tale. The title is based on a song by Racoon with the same name. **

**I don't own the show Supernatural or any of the characters that appear on that show, but I'm sure you don't need to be told that. I don't own the title or the lyrics mentioned here either. Oh and Dean's 19, Sam's 15.**

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_Blow your tears into my face  
Sadness is for later days  
My angel  
And don't be sad my little one  
Life has only just begun_

It had been a week already since Dean found out about Chloe, and still he hadn't plucked up the courage to tell James yet. No doubt the kid would want to see his mother once he started about her, but he couldn't. And he knew damn well how that felt, he couldn't do that to his son.

'Dean? You okay?' Sam spoke softly as he approached Dean from behind, plopping down next to him just outside the door of their motel room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

'Of course' Dean stated, a lot would have to happen before Dean would admit to his younger brother that he was not doing fine.

'I knew you were, though I was sort of expecting an answer along the lines of just peachy' Sam retorted, he was well aware of that same fact. Dean snorted and Sam laughed more freely, putting his hand loosely on Dean's shoulder.

'But that's okay, as long as you know that when you're no longer fine, I'm here' Sam stated, taking his hand off Dean's shoulder before he had a chance to shrug it off, knowing full well how much his brother hated those affectionate moments.

Dean was waiting for him to get back up, but he didn't. Instead he remained seated, hugging his legs to his chest, chin resting on his knees, staring into the distance. He was probably going to say something really wise now, making him sound much older than his 15 years. But even that didn't come. He was just sitting there, doing nothing at all. Dean averted his gaze and looked in front of him once again.

They sat in silence for a while, neither of them willing to break it. Dean had to admit he found his brother's presence oddly comforting. The familiar rumble of the Impala's engine sounded as their father pulled into the parking lot both brothers had been staring at.

'Hey you two, what you doing?' John asked a while later as he came walking in their direction, carrying a couple of paper bags filled with groceries he had gone to pick up. Dean shrugged.

'Where's James?' He proceeded to ask. Sam pointed his thumb in the direction of the door, still neither one of them spoke a word. John nodded with a smile on his face, knowing this was one of those moments his sons seemed to share sometimes that he just didn't understand. He decided to leave his boys to it and walked past them, into the motel room where his grandson was probably asleep.

* * *

'JAMES!' Dean yelled, trying to grab his little boy's hand, but his body would not comply. He looked at the boy's face, his eyes were wide with fear, tear tracks stained his cheeks and he looked so scared Dean had to swallow back the lump in his throat. The tiny boy's arms were stretched out, desperately reaching for his father and Dean felt his heart sink. He cursed his body for not following orders and screamed his son's name once more on the top of his lungs, but there was nothing more he could do than watch his son disappearing from sight.

'James?' Dean whispered, fingers grabbing into thin air. A tear made its way down his cheek.

'Dean?' A harsh voice from behind him said. Dean turned towards the source of the voice and stared into a pair of deep black eyes. He didn't even have time to react, because a bloodcurdling scream filled his ears, one he instantly recognized as James'.

Dean twirled around, looking for the little boy, a scream escaped his lips as he realized he wasn't there and there wasn't anything he could do to save him.

* * *

Dean shot upright, gasping. He glanced around the room, eyes searching automatically for the little boy who was sleeping peacefully right next to him. Sam, in the bed across the room hadn't stirred either. He wasn't used to listening out for his brother's nightmares and somehow Dean was relieved he hadn't noticed. Nightmares were more Sammy's thing and secretly that made them geeky and for the weaker people in Dean's eyes. Though Dean would never call Sammy weak, he wouldn't live to regret it if he did, he had always forced himself to be stronger than Sam.

'Dean?' His father whispered, knocking softly on the door before turning the key in the lock. Their room held two keys and their father had insisted on receiving the other key in case of emergency.

'Everything alright Dean?' He whispered upon entering. He walked into the room far enough to close the door behind him, but stayed close to the door.

Dean nodded. 'Yeah, I'm fine' He whispered back, though he very much doubted that the youngest two would awaken if he spoke louder.

'I heard you screaming, nightmare?' His father questioned, a hint of concern showing on his face. Of course the oldest Winchester had always been a light sleeper, apart from the nights he had tried to drown his sorrow in a bar of some kind. Add to that the fact that their usual establishments had very thin walls and it was no surprise his father had heard him.

Dean nodded again.

'You good now?' John asked, his features hardened again when Dean mumbled something like 'fine'. He turned around without another word, neither one of them comfortable around touchy-feely situations.

'Goodnight dad!' Dean called after his father with an hushed voice. John looked over his shoulder, and smiled at his eldest son.

'Night Dean' He said and closed the door, effectively putting Dean in the dark.

* * *

Dean laid back down and stared at the ceiling, the overwhelming feeling of failure and loss he had felt in his dream trying to get a hold of him again as the images flashed before his eyes. The sight of James desperately reaching for him, crying his eyes out, had broken his heart. He hoped that he would never have to live through that. A month ago he didn't even know he had a kid and now nightmares of losing his son were plaguing him. It was ridiculous how much had happened in such a short time.

The nightmares though didn't surprise him. He had had them before, after their run-in with the shtriga, when it had become painfully obvious for the first time how dangerous their father's job was and how easily either he or little Sammy could be hurt or worse. He had promised himself then he wouldn't let anything like that happen ever again, that he would follow his dad's orders and put a little more effort into training. After he had proven to himself he had done whatever it took to prevent something like that from happening ever again, the dreams had subsided. Dean couldn't wait for that to happen this time, he could do with a decent night of sleep.

'Daddy, wakey, wakey!' Immediately followed by a weight being dropped on his chest woke him up in the morning. When he opened his eyes he found himself looking into the big green orbs of his three year old, who was flashing a wide smile at him.

´Good morning buddy´ Dean mumbled, pulling himself up. He couldn´t help but smile back at the kid, even if he did prefer being woken up in a slightly calmer fashion.

´What are you doing?' He asked, reaching for the boy and pulling him closer to his chest for a short hug, last night's nightmare not yet forgotten.

'Wake you up of course' James replied in a how could you not understand that voice, crossing his arms.

'You wanna play daddy?' He added, before Dean had even gotten a chance to reply to the first statement.

'Of course buddy, after daddy has gotten a shower and we've had breakfast. Why don't you go play with your uncle for a little while so I can get ready?' Dean proposed, getting out of bed, taking James with him and putting him down on the floor.

'Unca Sammy has school. When do I go to school daddy?' James asked, turning his head up towards his father

'When you're a little older. Show me how old you are now' Dean said, kneeling down to his son's level. James stuck up three fingers.

'See, when you're this many fingers…' Dean uncurled one more finger and his thumb, so James was holding up his entire hand '…then you get to go to school. But tell you what, if you ask real nicely, I'm sure uncle Sam will teach you some things' Dean said, adding that last part when James started pouting after realizing how long that was going to be. His face lightening up at the mention of Sam teaching him a couple of things.

'Really?' He asked, mouth hanging up in excitement.

'Sure, go ask him' Dean said, nodding his head in Sam's direction who had just emerged from the bathroom.

* * *

'Unca Sammy!' James yelled, taking off in Sam's direction and launching himself on his uncle, who could only barely catch him before they both went down to the floor.

'Hello to you too James' Sam stated in fake anger. James' eyes grew wide

'Sorry unca Sammy' James pouted.

's okay. I'm sure you didn't mean to' Sam said upon noticing the child was genuinely upset, carding his fingers through the boy's hair.

'What did you want to say?' He asked, getting himself back on his feet. His nephew looked up at him, a smile spreading across his face again as he remembered what he was going to ask.

'You teach me unca Sammy?' He asked in his sweetest voice, puppy dog eyes flashing up at his uncle. Dean only barely held back a laugh at seeing Sam was getting a taste of his own medicine. Sam had been teaching his little boy how to ask for certain things, knowing that neither he nor their father was able to resist that look. He probably wished he'd never taught the kid, because he wasn't much better at denying the boy anything than his brother and father were, especially when he looked at him like that.

'Teach you what?' Sam asked, looking over at Dean who shrugged.

'School' James simply stated. 'Please?' He pleaded when it didn't look like his uncle was going to give him the answer he was looking for.

'You sure?' Sam wanted to know and James nodded eagerly, smile growing even bigger. How could this be Dean's kid? Dean had always hated everything that had to do with school.

'Well okay, I'll teach you a few things if you really want to. But after I get back from school this afternoon, okay?' Another nod from James and Sam ruffled the boy's hair smiling

'Hey Sammy, don't make him too smart or anything, would you? I don't think I can deal with two geeky kids' Dean joked, passing both his little brother and son on his way to the bathroom.

'Jerk' Sam mumbled under his breath, but loud enough for Dean to hear it.

Dean opened his mouth to give him the usual reply, but thought better of it.

'Love you too Sammy, please look after him for a while so I can take a shower' He said, closing the door behind him before Sam had to chance to argue with him.

* * *

**This was just a chapter to get back into it. I really hope you liked it. The next one should be coming soon as I've practically finished that one already. The action should be picking up soon too. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, this week has been nuts. I don't think I've been at home and able to sit on my butt for more than 2 hours in total. Like right now, I just came home from a Racoon concert, and they're freakin awesome, let me tell you that! But the moments I was home, I haven't been able to keep my mind to my story. It's been snowing, and they're saying chances are we'll have a white christmas for the first time since 1981. I wasn't even born back then! Which means this will be my very first white christmas and eventhough I don't really like snow, I'm super excited. And hyped up on sugar, in case you hadn't noticed. (It's totally not a made up story that sugar makes you hyper, I'm the living proof) But I'll stop rambling now and move on with the story.**

**Still don't own anything, please don't sue because it'll surely be the end of my plans to get my own place and I've been on the bloody waiting list for almost a year!**

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Sam and James had gone to bed. In order not to wake them, Dean was sat in his father's room, the door connecting their rooms opened slightly. Dean was watching some TV, his father going through some research.

'Dean, I want you to come on a hunt with me' John suddenly spoke up. Dean looked up at his father's words. He knew this day was going to come sooner rather than later, but wasn't sure what to say. He still hadn't made up his mind about continuing to hunt. The fact that Chloe had died and was therefore taking out of the equation entirely had sort of messed his plans up.

'I uh…' He stammered, eyes cast downwards, staring at the floor.

'I know you don't think you're ready for this yet, but you are. Children are disappearing and found back with their organs missing. I'm thinking it's a Strix and I need your help getting rid of it' John stated. Dean swallowed, he'd never liked cases involving children, but now with James around the idea made his stomach churn.

'Can't you get Sammy to come with you?' Dean hated himself for even suggesting that, but he really wanted to stay with James, keep him safe himself.

'Dean, I can't have all three of you coming, simply because it would be too dangerous for James, but also for Sammy. No matter what we've all been through, in the eyes of this creature he's still a child, which makes him a potential target. I would take this one alone, but it really is a two men's job and I've called Bobby, but there's nobody else in the area' John explained, Dean sighed. He couldn't say no, not when all those children were dying, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving his own child behind.

'Oh come on Dean, just this one hunt. We'll leave first thing tomorrow and if all goes well we'll return the day after' This was more like the father Dean had come to know over the last 15 years, ever since his mother had died really. He was a tough guy, hardened by his experiences in the supernatural world and his struggle to keep his two little boys safe, he had difficulty showing his emotions and his 'over my dead body' mentality often caused him to forget about other people's feelings. The past few weeks he had been a much softer version of that guy, James seeming to bring out the best in not only Dean, but in his father as well.

Dean nodded silently, he had made up his mind. He was going with his father, just this once. He was embarrassed for proposing his father would take Sammy with him and left Dean with James. Of course it would be safer for the two of them to stay here. Making his father go alone wasn't an option either, his dad had once told them about Striges, nasty little buggers, related to the shtriga's that caused him so many nightmares many years ago. They would too usually go after children, and feed of their life-force, though this witch took that far more literal and feasted upon their blood and organs. Though children were her usual prey, she was also known to go after sleeping men, which meant that if his father was to go after her alone, and she was to find out he was likely to become one of her victims.

And if Dean was really honest with himself, he had to admit he had missed the thrill of the hunt, after all he had done this for years already, never saw himself do anything else. Hunting was what he was good at and it made him feel good about himself.

* * *

'I'll come' Dean mumbled to get rid of any doubts his father might have still felt about him coming. His father nodded approvingly, and put his hand on his shoulder.

'Good, I want to leave tomorrow morning as soon as the sun comes up so we won't waste any sunlight. Go to bed early, make sure you're well rested, you'll need it if we're going to end this witch. She'll sure put up a fight' John said before getting up and turning the TV off.

'I know dad' Dean huffed, he had been hunting with his father for 7 years, the last 3 years he had become sort of to say a fulltime hunter. He did not really have to be told how to prepare for a hunt.

'Just making sure' He smiled, taking Dean by the shoulder and pushing him towards the door.

'Goodnight Dean' And the door was closed behind him. Dean sighed loud and tiptoed to his bed not wanting to wake up his brother and son.

* * *

'Dean?' Obviously his brother was not asleep.

'Yeah?' Dean whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed, he bend down and started tugging on his shoelaces.

'You going hunting with dad?' So he had been awake for quite a while now, listening in to his conversation with their father.

'Looks like it' He answered, kicking his shoes off.

'What about James?' Sam questioned

'You're going to take care of him' Dean replied, he hoped the fact that he would trust him with that job would ease Sam's worries, stop him from putting up an arguments because quite frankly Dean didn't think he could deal with that right now.

'But I…you…I can't…I can't take care of him Dean' Sam stammered, Dean frowned, he had seemed okay with looking after James earlier, even when he had gone back with his father to Moorcroft and left Sam to take care of James for an entire day.

'It's only for a day or two Sam' Maybe he had missed that part of the conversation, when Sam still didn't look convinced he continued 'do you honestly think I would leave the two of you alone if I didn't trust you to look after James and yourself? You're a big boy now Sam'

'But Dean…' Sam whined.

'What's happened Sam? Last time I asked you to look after James you were fine with it, and now all of a sudden you don't think you can. Did anything happen last time that you didn't tell me about?' Dean was beginning to have a feeling there was more to this than his little brother was letting on.

'No…nooo…nothing like that' Sam tried to set him straight

'Then what is it Sam?' Dean demanded

'It's just that I … I have a bad feeling about this. I can't explain it, but it just doesn't feel right' Sam explained. Dean sighed, at least if Sam had now confessed to something really silly that had happened last time they were left alone, something that he didn't want Dean to know about, he could've explained it away. If they had set something on fire or scratched the car of the people staying in the room next to theirs or screwed up in a different way he could've gotten angry with him and in doing so make him feel better about the whole situation. But this…this was vague, and he wasn't exactly sure how to convince Sam that this feeling he was having, didn't mean anything.

'You'll be alright, I'm sure. Now go to sleep Sam' He said instead, getting up and leaving for the bathroom. He didn't know how to offer any more comfort to his little brother, and to be honest, this little conversation had done nothing to ease his own worries either.

Finishing up in the bathroom he crept back to bed, satisfied to hear two matching deep breaths.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

And now here they were, it was barely past 5 am and he was up and getting his stuff together. He had woken Sam, so he'd know when they'd leave, but left James sleeping.

'Do you really have to go, Dean?' Sam questioned, pouting as his big brother much like he would when he was ten years younger and his father had told him he had to leave for his job.

'Yeah Sammy, I really have to go. It's not safe for you to go with dad, and it's not safe for him to go alone so really that leaves me with no choice' Dean reasoned with his brother, putting his hand on his shoulder and pulling him in for a hug.

'Please say goodbye to James as well, I'm not sure if I know how to explain you not being here when he wakes up if you don't' Sam pleaded, the hug hadn't cheered him up a single bit. Dean nodded, Sam was right, he couldn't just walk off. His dad had tried that once with Sammy, and he had one hell of a time explaining to the crying toddler that his daddy really was coming back and had not left him alone because he didn't love him.

Dean crouched down next to the bed that held the tiny form of his three year old.

'James' He spoke quietly, shaking his shoulder a little bit. James' eyelids fluttered open.

'Hey buddy' Dean said, a small smile appeared on James' face and he sat up a little. Dean put his hand on the boy's head.

'Daddy' He whispered.

'Good morning' Dean smiled back. Once he had the idea that his son was awake enough to understand what he was going to say next he continued.

'I want you to listen to me buddy. Daddy's going away for a little while with your grandfather. So you're going to be staying with uncle Sam, okay?' He explained, James looked up at him confused

'Daddy going away?' He asked, his lower lip beginning to tremble.

'Yeah buddy, just for a couple of days. You and uncle Sam are going to have so much fun' Dean tried to make it better for the little boy. Sam, who was standing close by, watching the pair spoke up as well.

'Yeah James, it'll be fun, really. I'm going to teach you some things okay, so when your daddy comes back you can show him how smart you are, you'd like that?' James looked over at his uncle and nodded eagerly.

'Good, now I need you to listen to your uncle, okay? You have to do what he says. Will you be a good boy for daddy?'

'I will daddy' James spoke quietly, throwing his arms around his father's neck. Dean pulled him to his close and lifted him from the bed. He didn't want to let go of the boy, but when his father called him from the car, he put him in Sam's awaiting arms. Sam followed him to the door and stopped there. Dean turned around, kissed James on the top of his head and ruffled Sam's hair.

'If all goes well we'll be back tomorrow. I'll call as soon as we get there' He said to Sam, who nodded silently with a sad look in his eyes.

'I'm sorry Sam' Dean sighed before turning back and hurrying towards the car where his father was waiting. He really hated doing this not only to James, but Sam as well. He knew exactly how he felt. He had watched his father take off plenty of times, leaving him behind to look after his little brother. Though Sam was nothing like him and had often pleaded to be allowed to stay at the home of the week instead of coming along for the hunt, he felt the same as Dean had back then. Sam had never been allowed to stay by himself, and that had brought on a whole lot of moping around, brooding and yelling, Dean knew the boy better than he knew himself and so he could tell that he was silently happy for it. Sam didn't want to see his father and brother go off by themselves any more than Dean did, afraid they could get hurt and might never come back to him.

Twisted in his seat, Dean looked through the rear window. Sam was still standing in the doorway, James in his arms. They were waving. Dean waved back whispering quietly so that even his dad couldn't hear: 'Everything will be okay, I promise' All the while praying to a god he didn't really believe in that that promise wouldn't be broken.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

**Sorry, not much James in this one...but there'll be plenty of him in the next one, I think. I have it all in my head and all it takes now is for me to put it down on paper. Coming weekend I have some time off, which I need to study, but I'll write chapter 3 as well. Leaves me with nothing more to say than I apologise for the nonsense I've written at the top of this chapter, and I thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited or put this story on alert. All you people bring me great joy. Hope to see you at the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I promised I wouldn't let you guys wait too long, so here it is. I'd like to thank everyone that has reviewed, if I haven't gotten back to you personally that is because I didn't get any notifications by email, which is very annoying. So if I haven't had the chance to thank you personally, I'm very sorry. I'm not sure about this chapter, mainly because I expected a lot of it and it didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. I hope you enjoy anyway**

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Sam had had a weird feeling all day. He had taken James to the park, but thought of some excuse to take him back early when he had the idea they were being watched. Every time he looked around there was nobody there, but years of hunting experience had taught him to trust his gut instincts. And so they returned to the motel room they were currently inhabiting only an hour after they had left it.

'Unca Sam?' James asked, coming up to the window Sam was currently staring out of. Sam looked up at the boy.

'Yeah?' He said, knowing full well what the boy wanted. He had promised him that they'd have fun together while Dean and his father were away, but all he had been doing was sitting at the window and staring out of it looking for potential danger whilst James colored quietly.

'You teach me now?' He asked, hopeful eyes glancing up at his uncle.

'Sure kid' Sam smiled, getting up from the chair. He threw one last look over his shoulder through the window, but still nothing seemed out of place. He wondered what he could teach the kid, he was only three years old after all.

'Do you want to show me what you've been drawing?' He asked, taking his nephew by the hand, not that he needed any guidance to the other side of the room, he just felt safer that way. James nodded excitedly, pulling Sam along to where he had been drawing, paper and coloring pencils littering the floor indicating the exact spot he had used.

Sam picked up a particular piece of paper from the floor that looked like a nearly completed drawing, kneeling down to James' level who was pointing out the different figures on his artwork, rambling on about what they were.

'And that me, with daddy' He stated finally, beaming proudly. He had drawn a few blobs with smiley faces that were supposed to be his father, and himself at the park. For a child his age it didn't look bad at all.

'Wow, kid. They should put this in a museum!' Sam faked enthusiasm, but smiled genuinely when the grin on the toddler's face widened.

'You know what, we'll make your very own museum. I'll help you write your name on it and then we'll put it on the fridge so that when your daddy comes back he can see it, you like that?' Sam asked. He still felt weird calling Dean daddy, but he was beginning to get used to it.

'Uhuh' James agreed.

'Good' Sam sat down on the floor and pulled James up on his lap. He took an empty piece of paper and with his free hand, the other one held James firmly in place, he started scribbling James' name on it in extra big letters.

'Here, this is your name. See, this is a J, A, M, E, S' Sam spelled out the boy's name, pointing at the letters as he named them. He handed a pencil to James, who, with his tongue sticking out of his mouth, attempted to copy the letters onto his drawing.

'Uh unca Sam? Can we put for daddy on it?' James wondered as he finished the bend that was supposed to be an S and put the pencil back down.

'Sure we can' Sam picked the pencil back up and wrote the message on the paper. He ruffled James' hair as the boy went back to work and smiled, perhaps this day wasn't going to be that bad after all.

'James, I'm going to make diner now. You want to watch TV or draw some more?' Sam asked as he got up from the floor where he and James had been working on dozens of drawings for James' "museum". So far they had more than enough to cover an entire fridge, or two, or three and still have plenty left. Sam had gotten tired of it after the second drawing, but James didn't and it at least kept James' mind off of the fact that his father wasn't around.

'Watch TV' James replied, also getting up from the floor. He sprinted to the beds where the TV was positioned and jumped on the closest bed before settling down and calling for Sam to turn the TV on. Sam couldn't blame the kid, he was just like his dad, full of energy, but he had been stuck inside all day because Sam was afraid something would happen if they went outside.

'Hold your horses, I'm coming. Oh and don't tell your daddy or grandfather that I allowed you to jump on the bed' Sam said, Dean would kill him if he knew he had let the kid get away with that. All of a sudden he was the responsible parent and James wasn't allowed to do half the stuff he and Dean got up to when they were younger.

James promised not to tell on him and stuck his thumb in his mouth, burying himself in the pillows watching the cartoon Sam had put on. Sam smiled and headed towards the small kitchenette that was in the room.

'Be sure to stay there, so that I can keep an eye on you' He called to his nephew. So maybe he had also become far more responsible than he had been before he knew James.

'I will unca Sam. You not set kitchen on fire?' James called back. Perhaps Dean had said something to the boy before he left, knowing Dean, he probably had.

'Oi you cheeky…Maybe I shouldn't make any dinner for you at all' Sam said trying his best to sound annoyed, but couldn't help but laugh when he heard the giggling coming the bed.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

Shortly after dinner, Sam had put James to bed, told him a story that he still remembered from when he was James' age and Dean would make up stories for him and went to his dad's room where he could work on his homework. His dad had arranged for him to have two days off, supposedly sick, but he did not want to get behind on his schoolwork. With James around it seemed much more likely to him that they would get to stay at one place for a length of time, which suited him very well. He had to excel in everything he did, always tried to get everything done perfectly, that was just the way he was wired. Staying in one place and school for longer than a few days or weeks would surely contribute to even better grades.

But instead of doing the homework he found himself looking out of the window at every sound he heard. The uneasy feeling that something bad was going to happen had died down a little when he had sat drawing with James, but as soon as he had put the boy to bed it had returned. Sam averted his gaze from the window to the knife that laid within reach.

'Unca Sam?' Sam jumped, hand shooting towards the knife immediately. He hadn't noticed the little boy currently standing in the doorway, bear clutched in his tiny arms. James' eyes grew wide as he stared at the knife that was being pointed at him.

'Sorry' Sam mumbled, quickly putting the knife away and hurrying over to his nephew to comfort him 'I hadn't seen you' He tried to explain, rubbing the boy's back soothingly

'You scared unca Sam?' James spoke quietly. Sam hated to admit it to the little boy, not wanting to scare the boy for absolutely no reason, but he knew how much he had hated it when Dean or his father wouldn't admit to him how scared they were, he had always known anyway, and so he nodded.

'But unca Sam, daddy says bear will keep me safe if he not there, and I think if we ask real nicely bear will keep you safe too' James announced, Sam had to swallow back the lump in his throat.

'I ask if you want?' James went on.

'Thank you James, yes I'd like that very much' Of course it wouldn't do him much good, but he really did appreciate the attempt. James, much like his father, had a way to bring a smile to his face, even if he didn't feel like smiling at all.

'Bear says he'll look after you too' James said.

'Well that's good. Now let's get you back to bed' Sam closed his books, he wasn't going to get much homework done anyway, took James by the hand and lead him back to bed. Not long after James had fallen asleep Sam closed his eyes as well and drifted off.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

He woke up around 5 the next morning, he had definitely heard something, something out of place. He reached under his pillow and took the knife he kept there. Glancing over to the bed next to his he saw James was still sleeping undisturbed. Sam pulled the covers back and quietly got out of bed, he noticed all the salt lines were still intact so whatever he had heard, it wasn't some supernatural creature invading their motel room.

Sam crept as quietly as he possibly could to the window and, back to the wall, looked out of it sideways. It was still dark outside, but he was sure he saw the outlines of a man standing in front of their door, trying to pick the lock. Apparently he wasn't much of an expert or else Sam wouldn't have woken up, besides, the lock wasn't in much better state than the rest of the motel so it wouldn't have taken an expert any longer than a couple of seconds to open the door.

But whoever he was, if he was trying to pick the lock he didn't belong there and that meant he was bad news. Sam walked back to the bed where James was sleeping, on the tip of his toes so the guy outside their door wouldn't notice someone was awake.

He took the sleeping boy in his arms, and carried him to the adjoining room, quietly closing the door behind him. Hopefully the guy didn't know his dad had rented both these rooms and wouldn't go looking for them in there.

James stirred in his arms and looked up at his uncle confused

'Hey James' Sam whispered, putting the boy down on his father's bed.

'Listen to me, we're going to play a little game, you like that?' Even though the toddler was still half asleep, he nodded excitedly.

'This is what we're going to do. You're going to hide in the bathroom, okay? Close the door behind you and lock it, I'll show you how. You don't open that door unless me or your daddy comes, knocks on the door and asks you to open it.' Sam tried to keep his voice as calm as he could, so he didn't worry the boy.

'Do you understand that?' Sam asked, when James didn't say anything he asked again.

'I understand unca Sam. What you going to do?' He wanted to know.

'I'm going to hide somewhere else. That way if your daddy comes back he will have to look for us and then we'll surprise him. Won't that be fun? And you have to be very quiet so that your daddy won't hear you, because that would spoil the surprise' A smile made its way to James' face, he liked the idea of surprising his daddy.

Sam heard the door in their own room close, scooped the boy in his arms and carried him to the bathroom. He showed James how to lock the door and let him practice a couple of times before closing the door. He sighed a breath of relief when he heard the click indicating James had indeed managed to lock the door.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

Some loud cursing came from the room next door. Sam put his ear to the door, trying to find out what the person who had forced his way into their room wanted. His mind was working overtime, going over all the motives the guy could have for breaking into their motel room. He ruled out the possibility of the guy being a homeless guy who just wanted a place to spend the night because of all the cursing, he probably wasn't a burglar either, because he wasn't rummaging through their stuff. He was sure that this guy was coming for either him or James, though he couldn't imagine why. Maybe their dad had pissed someone off who was trying to get revenge through him or Dean. If that was the case he would settle for taking him, and wouldn't even have to know James was there as well. The boy would be safe in the bathroom until Dean came back. He would go quietly with this guy, giving him no reason to look further.

Sam's thoughts were disturbed when the door he was leaning against slammed open in his face, causing him to stumble backwards, hitting his head on a small table on the way down.

'Ah, look what we have here' Someone snarled, Sam didn't like the way the guy sounded. He looked up to see if he could identify the man, but his vision was blurry so all he could be sure about was that the guy had dark hair, shorter than his dad and his shoulders not as broad either. Still, he made an impression, the way he loomed over Sam from the doorway.

'Though you're not really who I'm looking for, a little too old' The guy continued. Sam swallowed, did this guy really know about James?

'I'm looking for a little boy, about this big, blond hair, green eyes, annoying little kid' The guy held his hand halfway his thigh to indicate the height of James. 'You think you have seen him?' Sam shook his head, praying that James would stick to their agreement to keep quiet. He would have to pretend that he had no clue what this guy was talking about in order to keep the boy safe.

'You sure?' The man bend down and picked Sam's knife, that he had dropped whilst falling, up from the floor and pointed it at the teenager. Sam cursed inwardly, he had forgotten he had dropped the knife, he must have hit his head harder than he thought.

Glancing around the room, it seemed he was buying Sam's act. James chose that moment to make a sound from the bathroom and the guy's eyes shot to the closed door. He marched towards it and Sam sprung into action. He stepped between the guy and the door

'You are not going in there' He said firm.

'Look kid, I don't know who you think you are, but you are not going to stop me from entering that room' He grabbed Sam's arm and twisted it behind his body before throwing him against the wall. Sam felt the bone in his wrist snap, but didn't take the time to think about it. He charged at the guy, managing to knock him over.

He had forgotten all about his knife until he felt it entering his body right below his ribs. Twisting his body away, he charged at the guy again. Deciding he needed to get the guy away as far from James as he could he got to his feet, despite the protests from his body and stumbled to his own room again. As he had hoped and expected the guy followed him. Sam needed something he could use as a weapon against him, he dropped to his knees, his legs no longer able to hold up his aching body and scrambled towards the pencils and paper they had left from their drawing session. Taking up a pencil he turned around to face the guy again, it wasn't much, but it would have to do. Charging at the guy one last time, pencil at the ready, he stabbed the guy. He assumed he had hit target, because the guy screamed, but he couldn't be sure because he was starting to lose the battle against the darkness. He thought of the three year old that must be scared out of his wits, waiting in the bathroom for his father or uncle to come get him. He sure hoped Dean wouldn't be too long, if not for his, than for the boy's sake. Just before his eyes closed and his body fell sideways he send up a prayer, praying for Dean and his father to come and for James to be alright.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

**I'd just like to say a merry christmas to everyone, in case I don't have time to update before christmas. I hope you all enjoy yourself during the holidays, have fun with family and friends and I hope to see you all back for the next chapter!**

**Elaine**


	4. Chapter 4

**I really wanted to finish this chapter before Christmas, because I have a tendency of changing the story as I write it and I just needed to know in what direction I'm taking it. I would have posted this sooner, but I had a little sister emergency. She's fine now, so I'm happy. Oh, there was something else I was supposed to say last chapter. On your doorstep was strictly from Dean's POV, but for the purposes of this one, I sometimes have to change the POVs, as you probably noticed. I think I haven't made it too complicated, but if I have, please let me know. **

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

'Dean, would you do me a favor?' John spoke up all of a sudden. He was lying on the bed, trying to get some sleep before they would go back to Sam and James, while Dean continued pacing the room. Dean looked up at his father's voice.

'Please call Sam. I know he's going to make fun of you for this, but you're driving me freaking insane with your pacing and worrying' Dean shook his head. He didn't want to make it seem to Sam as though he didn't trust him with James.

'Then sit down on the bed and don't move for the next five minutes' Dean went to follow his father's orders, but he had barely planted his butt on the bed before he shot back up and started pacing the room again. John opened one eye, glancing over at his oldest son.

'You call Sam, now' He growled, and again Dean shook his head. 'I'm not really asking you' John continued, taking the phone from the bedside table and tossing the horn at Dean, who caught it before the phone went down.

'Now I would even dial for you, but I'm sure you know the number by heart'

'But dad, it's like…5.30 or something. I don't want to wake them up' Dean tried, reaching out to put the horn back where it belonged.

'Really Dean, I don't give a shit what time it is, even if it was in the middle of the night, you are calling Sam now. You are not going to get any sleep if you're like this and neither am I. And I'm not driving back before I'm convinced either one of us is rested well enough to ensure our safe arrival' John said, sitting up. Dean nodded, his dad was right. They had had a long night, going up against the Strix, who they needed to lure out into the public to expose her powers, and when that didn't work they opted for the stake through the heart. John originally hadn't thought it would work, but it did the trick and so now they were back in their motel room. Of course Dean had wanted to go right back to Sam and James, but John was making him get some shut-eye first, which he really wasn't getting unless he spoke to Sam and ensured himself everything was fine with both his brother and son.

His fingers were shaking as he dialed the number, something didn't feel right. He held the phone by his ear, waiting patiently for someone to pick up the phone, which didn't happen. There wasn't a voicemail either, so the phone just kept ringing.

'Dad…' Dean spoke with a shaky voice. 'Dad, he's not answering' He was already going through his duffle, looking for something warm to throw on over his shirt.

'Dean, what are you doing?' John questioned in a tired voice, sitting up a little and looking at his eldest.

'I don't care what you say, but I'm going back now' Dean answered, getting up from the bed and looking around the room for his boots that had to have ended up somewhere on the floor after he had kicked them off.

'Dean, calm down, would you? Are you sure you dialed right?' John tried to talk sense into Dean, who raised an eyebrow at the question. Of course he had dialed right, he was indignant that his father would even suggest something like that, and even more that he was considering it himself as well.

'Of course I have'

'Maybe you misdialed, try again' John said, making it sound like there was no use arguing, which Dean didn't. He took a deep breath and dialed again.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

Something was ringing, and it was annoying. It stuck in his ears and it worsened the pounding in his head. Sam lifted a shaky hand and swatted in the general direction of the noise.

'D'n, stop it' He mumbled, sure it was an alarm clock of some kind, his brother would take care of it. Or it was that same brother who was playing a trick on him. But the noise didn't stop, it grew closer, making his head hurt. He squeezed his already closed eyes even tighter and pushed a hand up to his face, trying to protect his ears from the sound. Just when he thought the noise would drive him mad it stopped.

'Thanks Dean' He sighed, letting his hand fall back to his side he relaxed again. The silence lasted only for a few moments, because then the ringing started up again. Sam moaned and turned to his side, away from the noise, only to roll back as fast as he could when a white hot pain coursed through his body. He bit his lip to stop himself from screaming out in absolute agony. Shit, he was not doing that again anytime soon.

He held his hand to his side, which felt warm and sticky. Sam opened his eyes to slits and held his hand to his face, he gasped to find it red with blood, his blood. He knew enough about first aid to understand that a wound, any wound, could potentially be dangerous if not taken care of. With the pain still very much present and his other hand feeling slightly awkward too he couldn't do a thorough inspection of his side, so he had to assume it was bad, like it felt. He had to stop the bleeding at least, until someone could take a look at the wound and treat it properly. Yes, he would try to stop the bleeding, after he had taken a quick nap. He no longer fought the pull of sleep, closed his eyes again and quickly drifted off to an uncomfortable sleep.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

His foot wouldn't stop bouncing, no matter how many pointed looks he, or his father for that matter, gave it. He had tried to forcefully stop it, but the second he released his leg, it would start again.

'Dean, stop it' John growled, he had had it.

'I'm trying dad, honestly I am' Dean responded with a slight pout. He stuck his finger in his mouth and started nibbling on the nail. Every muscle in his body was wound tight from the nerves and he was like a caged animal, stuck in the car until they had reached their destination. He was sure it would have been different if he had driven, but his dad somehow felt he wasn't capable of that with the "state he was in" or something and insisted he'd be the one to drive them back or they weren't leaving at all. Happy to at least be moving in the right direction, even with the wrong person behind the wheel, Dean had shut up about it. He was anxious to get back to the motel room, which was now only about two hours away.

After the second time receiving no answer he had totally lost it. His mind was playing a movie with worst case scenarios. Anything could have happened while they were away. His dad had, again, tried to calm him, telling him that it was still pretty early and there was a good chance that Sam was still asleep. Dean didn't buy that for a second. Sure that could be the reason he didn't pick up the phone the first time, but with the way they were trained always to be alert, especially if there was no one to watch their backs, he should've woken up and answered the bloody phone the second time. And if they arrived and everything turned out to be just fine he was gonna kick his little brother's ass for making him worry.

Beside him, his father let out a loud sigh. Dean could tell that he too was worried, whether he had the same gut instinct Dean had, or his oldest son's worries were beginning to rub off on him, he didn't know. Could be that he was starting to lose his patience with him, and Dean wouldn't even blame him if he did.

'Dean, I'm stopping the next chance we get. You're taking a ten minute breather' John said stern. Dean shook his head.

'Dad no' His father didn't even turn his head to acknowledge him.

'Please' He was certainly not beyond begging, but his father wouldn't budge. Realizing that as long as John had the car keys he wasn't going anywhere his dad didn't want him to, he shut up, crossed his arms and tried a classic Sammy sulky face.

'Not working Dean' His father commented, snorting at his son's scowl.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

True to his words John pulled the car over at the next rest stop, forced Dean out of the car and went to get some caffeine. He definitely needed some more caffeine if he was going to put up with this for the rest of the ride.

Dean hovered near the car, unsure of what to do with himself. He had to admit, he was secretly happy with this forced time out. He got the change to stretch his muscles and his foot had ceased the annoying tapping thing. But his mind was working overtime. He was too worried to even think straight, all he wanted was to get back to the motel as soon as he possibly could.

He jumped slightly when someone touched his shoulder. He snapped his hand back, ready to hit whoever it was in the face.

'Woo, easy tiger' His father said, taking a step back just in case. Dean released the breath he had been holding.

'Don't do that' He said, shrugging his dad's hand of his shoulder.

'I know you're worried Dean, but you've got to pull yourself together man' John tried, Dean turned to look at him, but didn't say anything. He hoped that his old man would understand that he needed to be left alone. He would deal with it in his own time, preferably after he had kicked Sam's ass. The message seemed to come across just fine, because without another word John made his way back around the car and slit into the driver's seat.

'You coming or what?' he joked, Dean couldn't appreciate the effort very much.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

He instantly knew something was very wrong when they pulled the car into the parking area and he spotted the door to their room slightly ajar. He opened his door and before the car had even come to a full stop he was out of it and sprinting towards the room. He could hear his father following behind him not much later.

Before he reached the room he slowed down, got the gun from his waistband and used it to push the door open a little further. The sight that met him made his heart drop. His little brother was lying on the floor, a small puddle of blood surrounding him. He looked young, and fragile, and hurt. Hurt, the word kept repeating itself in his mind. He had known something was wrong. He shouldn't have taken off with his dad, he had failed his little brother. He dropped the hand holding the gun, but remained frozen on his spot in the doorway. A sharp intake of breath coming from behind him, followed by a slight nudge to the side broke his trance. His father passed him and knelt down beside Sam, fingers tracing his neck, searching for a pulse.

'Maybe a little weak, but definitely there' John said, glancing up at Dean, whilst turning Sam's body, looking for the source of the bleeding. A moan coming from the boy had Dean spring into action. Rushing to his injured brother's side he knelt down beside his father and grabbed Sam's hand.

'Sammy?' He questioned, trying to find out if the boy was really awake or was unconsciously responding to the pain his father's hands were causing him.

'D'n' The softly spoken word brought a smile to Dean's face.

'Yeah buddy, it's me. Dad's here too' He whispered

'Knew you'd come' Sam whispered back, making an effort to open his eyes. He didn't get much further than half mast, but Dean would take it.

'What happened?; He asked, he just had to know.

'James…' Sam said, Dean's eyes grew wide and he looked around frantically, looking for the little boy. He was ashamed he didn't miss him until Sam mentioned his name. He was not only a horrible brother, but a lousy father on top of that.

'Where is he Sammy, he okay?' Sam managed something resembling a nod. Dean released a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

'Bathroom' Dean was about to take off towards the bathroom, but was stopped by Sam, who was tugging on his sleeve.

'You have to … knock … he won't open … the door … unless you knock … let him know … it's you' Sam mumbled. Dean nodded to show his brother he had understood, before heading to the bathroom. The door was opened, so he pushed it open slightly further, finding the room empty. His heart rate went up a few notches as he turned to look at Sam with questioning eyes. Sam raised his chin and pointed it in the direction of the door that separated their room from their father's room. Dean lingered in the doorway, not wanting to leave Sammy alone. It didn't take long for John to walk back into the room, carrying the first aid kid with him. He had gone to the car to collect it. Being sure his brother was taken care of, he made his way to his father's room.

'Okay Sammy, you're going to have to tell me where you're hurt' He heard his father say to his little brother, but they sounded far away and he didn't catch the answer as he continued to the bathroom. He put his ear to the closed door, but didn't hear a sound. He could feel his heart beating in this throat and he raised his hand to knock on the door quietly, not wanting to startle James if he was in there.

'Hey buddy, it's daddy. I'm here now, can you open the door for me' Dean spoke softly, head still pressed against the door. He heard the shuffling of feet, followed by the click of the door being unlocked. He took a step back so he wouldn't fall into the room with the door and all. He didn't even have time to react, because within seconds of the door opening a small bundle launched itself on him.

Dean stroked the boy's back while he sobbed, quietly at first, growing louder and louder. Dean really wanted to know what had happened, but he want to ask James in order not to scare him any further. He needn't have worried, because the boy started spilling the story on his own account.

'Unca Sammy said we playing game. He said you come find me, we surprise you. He said I lock the door and you or he come, knock on the door and I open it for you. And I heard scary noises daddy, and unca Sammy didn't come, and you didn't come' The boy sobbed. Dean couldn't imagine how terrified the boy must have been, waiting for his daddy or uncle to come get him, but neither one of them showed up. Obviously something or someone had come into their room, and Sam had wanted to protect his nephew, making him lock himself in the bathroom. He had probably waited outside of the door so he could throw himself in front of whatever was endangering the little boy. Dean cursed him for being so stupid, but at the same time he was so proud of his brother for keeping his son safe.

He wondered how long the boy had been in the bathroom. How long had Sam been out?

'Where unca Sam?' James asked, the sobbing dying down a little.

'He's in the other room. What do you say we go see how he is?' Dean had considered going into the room first, finding out how bad it was before letting James in, but he realized that in the state the toddler was in, he couldn't deny him seeing his uncle. So instead he got back to his feet, lifting James with him and walked back to the other room.

'How is he dad?' He asked as soon as John came in his line of sight. John had Sam sitting up a little, leaning against his father's chest for support, which he obviously needed.

'Not too bad I suppose. He's lost quite some blood from a stab wound in his side, but not enough to be worrying. The wound's not too deep, nothing a few stitches won't fix. I'm assuming he has a concussion though and it surely looks like he broke his wrist' John summed up the injuries Sam had sustained.

'Do we take him to a hospital?' Dean asked, John scrunched up his face. If he could avoid taking either one of his children to a doctor or hospital, he would. They were going to be curious about the wounds and their origin. Sam had mumbled something about being attacked, which would mean the police would be involved and he didn't need them poking around in his life.

'Yeah, we should. I can take care of the stab wound, but with head injuries you can never be too careful. And that wrist needs some proper medical attention, I can't set that' John sighed 'Dean, he's going to be okay, it could have been a lot worse' He added, trying to ease the worries in his eldest like he had been trying to do all day. With a nod Dean walked towards the beds, took the blankets of them and wrapped one around the trembling boy in his arms, who had only lifted his head from where it had been buried in the crook of his father's neck to look at Sam but hadn't given any other sign of alertness. Bringing the other blanket to his father who wrapped it around Sam h whispered in James' ear

'You heard that James, uncle Sam is okay. You know how he's a little clumsy sometimes? Well we're going to take him to a doctor because he was so clumsy he broke his arm' James giggled a little at his father's words and Dean looked at him, that smile right there, he would die for.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

**I'm going to wish you all a merry Christmas, I hope you'll all have a great time with family and friends with presents or whatever way you're going to celebrate it. Or just a few good days if you're not celebrating at all. Also I wish you all the best for 2010, may all your dreams come true. **

**Elaine**


	5. Chapter 5

**Let's start on a positive note, happy new year! I hope everyone had happy holidays, and are still completly intact after the fireworks, family gatherings and everything.**

**You're currently looking at the fifth rewrite of this chapter. Five rewrites and it's still a little... It's sort of an in between chapter and nothing much happens. On top of that I've kept you waiting long enough. So to make up for that, and the crapiness of this chapter I wanted to make it a little longer, which didn't work too well. **

**But enough of my moaning. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my father, who, by falling of his bike, managed to not only scare the crap out of us, but also provided me with a little knowledge on concussions. Apart from that, I am not a medical person, don't think they'd want me, so I apologize beforehand for any errors I may have made.**

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

Dean had been told to wait in the waiting room with James. On the one hand he was glad John at least got to go with Sam, on the other hand he envied his father. He was supposed to be there for Sam, take care of him and comfort him, like he always had been. Of course the hospital staff didn't care who had raised Sam, they were more interested in who was his biological father.

That also meant he was the one that got to go with James when he was looked over. He was relieved to hear that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the boy, not even a scratch. And once again Dean felt his heart swell with pride for the way Sam had protected his nephew.

'Daddy?' James whispered in his ear. Dean looked at the toddler. He was incredibly proud of the kid too, for the way he had handled what happened. He had been absolutely terrified, but seemed to be completely over his shock already.

'Where unca Sam?' Dean shrugged, he didn't know, not really.

'They're fixing him. You know he hit his head really hard and he broke his arm, remember?' James nodded

'Well, they need to fix him. Doctors fix people, and there are a lot of doctors here, so they're going to take good care of your uncle, don't you worry'

'You promise?' Dean had to swallow back a lump in his throat at those words. Large, green eyes looked up at him, full of hope. For a moment he felt again like he had when Sam was James' age, when he still could fix everything with a few words and a hug.

'Yeah, I promise' James seemed satisfied with that as he went back to playing with the zipper on his father's jacket without saying another word.

Dean wished he could convince himself as easily. He knew his dad had said it wasn't anything life threatening, but just the fact that his little brother was being treated in a hospital room didn't sit right with him. And that his father hadn't come out yet to tell them what was going on added to the uneasy feeling he had.

Speaking of the devil, or thinking really, Dean heard the heavy footsteps that unmistakably belonged to his father. He sighed a breath of relief upon finding a small smile had replaced the concerned frown on the older man's face.

'Hey, how is he?' Dean questioned, jumping to his feet immediately, taking James with him.

'He's fine I suppose. As I said, broken wrist, which they set and the wound in his side is stitched and bandaged up neatly, he does have a pretty severe concussion though, so they'd like to keep him overnight, just to be sure'

'Good. Can we go see him?' His father nodded and turned back into the direction he had just come from, Dean followed him with James still in his arms, the boy's head snuggled in the crook of his neck.

Entering the room, Dean's eyes went over his little brother immediately. Eyes closed, he looked a little pale, his arm in a cast, a bandage was wrapped tight around his upper body, but other than that he seemed okay.

'Hey Sammy' He whispered softly, unsure whether or not his brother was sleeping.

'Dean?' Sam opened his eyes to half slits.

'Yeah Sammy, it's me' Dean stepped closer, putting James down on the ground so he could reach for Sam's hand.

'Where's James?' He sluggishly asked

'Here unca Sam' James spoke up from his position next to the bed, where Sam couldn't see him. Sam went to sit up to see the boy for himself, but Dean held a restraining hand on his chest.

'Don't do that Sammy' He said, in the corner of his eyes he saw John bending down to pick James up, and putting him down on the bed, in Sam's line of sight.

Sam raised his hand and beckoned James to come closer. Dean helped the boy crawl closer to his uncle, Sam put his good arm round his nephew and pulled him in for a hug, wincing as he did so.

'You okay James?' Sam asked. James nodded as Dean pulled him off Sam's chest and put him down on the floor again.

'Good' Sam closed his eyes for a few moments, before opening them again and struggling to get to a sitting position.

'Where's James?' He asked again.

'He's right over here Sam' Dean answered, sharing a concerned look with his father.

'Is he okay?'

'Yeah Sammy, thanks to you he is'

'And you and dad, are you okay?'

'We're fine Sammy' Dean went to explain. Sam nodded and closed his eyes again.

'Where's James?' It hadn't taken him five minutes to ask the question for the third time. Dean sighed, he knew this went with concussions sometimes, their family had dealt with them more often than he would've liked, but it still unnerved him.

'He's right here kiddo' John spoke up before Dean had the chance to respond.

'Oh, good. He okay? What happened? How did we get here?'

'You don't remember anything?' Sam shook his head. Dean took a deep breath before roughly explaining what had happened that night. Sam nodded throughout the entire explanation, but Dean highly doubted he would've noticed it if his older brother had told him that he had jumped off a bridge wearing nothing but a pair of bright pink boxers. Anything he said now, would be forgotten within minutes.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

'I've talked to the police' John began, walking back into the room he had vacated a couple of minutes earlier. Dean looked up at the words, nodding at his father to continue his story.

'Told them what happened, or well, what I think happened. They say they want Sammy and James to make a statement, told them it wasn't going to happen' Dean covered his face with his hand. That sounded like his father had gotten in trouble again.

'No Dean, I didn't threaten them or anything. Doctors had told them Sammy wasn't able to remember anything and James, they think he's too young to give a proper statement. Especially after I told them what James had told us. They did say they're going to be looking for whoever did this, for what it's worth' John continued, reading Dean's mind.

'Oh…okay…good' Dean turned his attention back to his sleeping brother and son. James hadn't lasted very long, exhausted by everything that he had been through, he fell asleep shortly after coming into Sam's room. Dean hugged him close to his chest, a silent tear making its way down his cheek. Really, it had been one hell of a night.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

'Dean, why don't you take James and go to the motel, get our stuff and rent a different room' John ordered more than suggested. Dean looked surprised at his father. He hadn't thought about them not being able to stay with Sam. Not that he didn't understand, he just wasn't used to it and so the thought hadn't crossed his mind.

'Yeah…I…uh… yeah sure' He stammered, getting up from the edge of the bed where he had been sitting, with James on his lap.

He lifted James in a horizontal position and brought him nearer to Sam 'Say goodnight to uncle Sammy' James giggled and pressed his lips on Sam's nose, as it was the only part of his face he could reach.

'Goodnight unca Sammy' He whispered. He held his finger out and pointed it at his uncle, put on his strict face before he continued 'Be careful unca Sammy' Dean had difficulty holding in his laughter, a snort from his father standing beside him told him that he was less successful. He pulled James back to his chest, hugging him close. James tried to get out of his father's hold and reached for John. Dean loosened his grip and let the boy climb over his shoulder.

'Goodnight grandpa' John looked over at his oldest son unimpressed, who raised his eyebrows in a "don't look at me, I didn't do anything" way. John decided to let the matter go, pressed a soft kiss on James' forehead and handed him back to Dean.

'Goodnight James'

Just before Dean walked out of the room he put his hand on his little brother's knee and whispered 'Yeah Sammy, be careful'

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

Dean sat on the bed next to the one holding his son, going over everything that had happened the past two days in his head.

Sam had known something was up, and Dean felt guilty as hell for not going on his little brother's instincts. And while he had gone off with his father hunting down some ugly son of a bitch, something, or someone had come to their motel room and injured Sammy, it wasn't fair.

He had tried talking to Sam, he knew his father had done the same thing, but Sam didn't seem to remember anything of what had happened, whether the attacker was human or not, let alone how they got away with relatively minor injuries. Dean shuddered at the knowledge that it could have been much worse, would have been probably if it wasn't for their father's training that Sam despised so much.

Something told him that he should pack their stuff and run, get as far away from here as he possibly could. If something, or someone was after his son or brother, he had to get the two of them out of there. He hated running away, it wasn't the Winchester way, but if the littlest Winchesters were in danger, he was willing to swallow his pride.

He laid back on the bed, arms stretched above his head and sighed loudly. He felt truly helpless with the entire situation. He went over every single possible scenario in his head, and eventually he drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

'Daddy… we buy unca Sammy a present?' James had stopped walking and was now tugging on Dean's sleeve. Dean followed the little boy's gaze to the gift shop.

'What would you wanna buy him?' Dean started in the direction of the shop.

'A bloon' James stated, pointing at the balloons and rushing towards them.

'A balloon, huh? Which one you like?' James had some difficulty picking. For a moment Dean thought he was going to chose one of a girly mouse in a pink dress, but James eventually scrunched his nose. Good, he was going to have a hard time explaining that one to his father, and Sam once he was alert enough to realize what it was.

'What do you say we get one for you as well? Because you have been such a brave boy' Dean suggested, smiling at the widening eyes and look of joy on James' face. To the contrary of what Dean had expected, James slept the entire night, not once waking from a nightmare. And in the morning he ate all of his breakfast, promising to be really quiet when they would go and visit Sam. For that alone he deserved a present himself.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

Five minutes later Dean marched through the hospital, armed with a balloon, a bright explosion of colors on which was written 'get well soon'. James walked beside him, one hand holding his father, the other one clutching his own Spongebob shaped balloon.

Walking into the room they found Sam sitting up and looking very alert. John sitting beside the bed, not looking very well rested, dark rings around his eyes. He had spend the night on the rollaway bed the hospital provided for parents whenever their children had to stay the night. Dean knew from experience they weren't the most comfortable beds. And he knew for a fact that Sam had been woken up every single hour because of his concussion, which would've kept their father awake as well.

'You look great dad' Dean grinned, fully content with himself as his father grumbled something unrecognizable in return. Probably something that wasn't meant for three year old ears.

'I give it, I give it' James reached his hand out to take the balloon from Dean and rushed over to Sam's bed.

'Here unca Sammy! We got present for you' He exclaimed.

'James, remember what you promised me this morning?' Dean spoke firm, walking up to Sam's bed, taking James from the floor and putting him down on the edge of the bed so he could more comfortably look at his uncle.

'Oh right, sorry unca Sammy' James whispered, holding out the balloon for Sam who took it from him smiling.

'That's okay kid, what have you gotten for me?' Sam at least sounded a lot more with it than he had the day before.

'A bloon' James stated in a half whisper.

'Wow, thank you very much'

'So how are you?' Dean broke in the conversation.

'Okay, better than yesterday. Tired though, they kept waking me up all night' As if to prove his point he yawned loudly.

'He's better than yesterday, short term memory's much better than it was, docs say he can go with us in a few moments' John explained, standing up from his seat by the bed.

As if on cue a female doctor walked into the room. Dean took a moment to notice she was very hot.

'So I hear you're leaving us already Sam' Sam nodded.

'You promise to take it very easy?' She continued, it annoyed Dean how much she sounded like she was speaking to a little child. 'I mean it Sam, don't even think about school for at least two weeks, I'm guessing it will take longer than that even. If you overdo it, there could be permanent brain damage and we'd very much like to avoid that' She went on to explain. Dean winced at the statement, he knew head injuries shouldn't be messed with, but when she put it like that it sounded so much more serious.

James got off the bed and walked up to the doctor, tugging on her sleeve.

'You a doctor?' He asked as she bend down to face him.

'Yeah I am' Dean hadn't been mistaken about her little kid voice, she used the exact same one when speaking to James.

'Daddy says you fix people. You fix unca Sammy?' James questioned with a serious face.

'Your daddy's right, little man. Your uncle's going to be okay, but he'll have to sleep a lot to get better. Will you make sure he sleeps a lot?' Dean wasn't sure Sam was going to like James being in charge of that. He had a feeling James was as much a mother hen as he himself was. James however seemed thrilled to be given such an important task.

'I will' He promised, Dean flashed him an approving grin.

'Can I go home?' Sam whispered pitifully, throwing in his patented puppy dog eyes, pleading with the doctor to release him from the hospital.

'Of course you can, I'll go get the papers for your dad to sign' She turned to fetch the release papers while Dean helped Sam into the fresh change of clothes he and James had brought from the motel that morning.

'I can do that' Sam protested as Dean was maneuvering his injured arm through the sleeve of his shirt.

'Sure you can Sammy' Dean commented, though he didn't stop what he was doing.

'Dean' Sam whined, trying to wriggle his arm free from Dean's hold. The soft whimper he couldn't quite stop escaping his lips as he did, was registered by his older brother, who tightened his grip, but didn't say another word until he finished putting the shirt on.

'There you go Sammy, now that wasn't so hard, was it'

'Jerk' And for once Dean didn't really care that James was in the room with them as he shot back 'Bitch'

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

'Dad, can I talk to you for a second?' Dean asked, pulling his dad aside. They had gotten Sam back to the motel, and as soon as his body hit the bed there he fell asleep again. James was sitting on the floor next to the bed, quietly drawing.

'What we going to do now?' He questioned as soon as he thought they couldn't be overheard by James anymore.

'I don't know Dean. Sam can't remember what happened and I haven't gotten a clue where to start looking. It could be something supernatural, but I don't think it is. I've been to the rooms, they marked it a crime scene and all, seems like the police means business. There's no traces of sulphur anywhere, meaning no demons, the EMF meter doesn't go crazy so that rules ghosts out as well and it doesn't look like the M.O. of any other creature I can think of' John explained, Dean put his head in his hands, sinking down to the floor.

'So what do we do now?'He asked quietly, his father knelt down in front of him and put his hand on his shoulder.

'As soon as Sammy's able to travel, we're getting out of here. I don't know what happened, but I am going to find out. And in the meantime, I'd like Sam and James to be somewhere safe. We're taking them to Bobby's'

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

**So yeah, I'm bringing Bobby into the story. Don't ask me why though, that was sort of a spur of the moment thing. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, my exams are coming up, only 9 days to go and I haven't done quite as much as I should have. Also, I've made a new years resolution to run a half marathon for charity in september, and I've sort of signed up for one so I should start training for that. I do like to hear from you, any comments, suggestions or requests are very welcome. Hopefully I'll see you for the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I've kept you waiting for a ridiculous long time, I apologize. My exams are over, and I've seen the answers now, don't think I did too bad. But now it's kinda busy in the office and we're behind. I'm putting in so much overtime at the moment I can pretty much afford enough days off to go on holiday for a week. Ah well, deadline's approaching fast now, only one more week to go so I should be fine. For now, on with the story, enjoy!**

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

He heard the car coming, before he saw it. Bobby stopped what he was doing and walked to his house, where the Impala was just pulling up. John had called, announcing they were coming to stay at his place for a while. He hadn't been too forthcoming with information on why, which told him that something bad must have happened. His suspicion was confirmed when John bend down and reached in the backseat, coming back up with his youngest son in his arms. The oldest Winchester walked towards him, carrying Sam bridal style. The fact that he didn't try to swat his father's hands away, didn't bitch and moan about being able to walk for himself when he clearly wasn't, told him something about the state of mind of the youngest Winchester.

Bobby's gaze went back to the Impala, curious about the absence of Dean. Normally, when anything was wrong with Sam, Dean would instantly jump into mother hen mode, not letting anyone else come near his baby brother, not even their father.

He was half expecting the boy to come crawling out of the car and dragging himself to the house, claiming he was perfectly fine in true Winchester fashion. But instead he was crouched down with his back towards the house. When he rose to his full height, Bobby's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected the second pair of green eyes peeking over his shoulder, which were hidden in the crook of Dean's neck the second they caught sight of him.

Dean turned around and smiled at the older man, patting the back of the little boy in his arms. Bobby stood staring at the pair, he didn't remember anyone saying anything about a toddler coming along.

'Uhm…Bobby a little help please?' Bobby tore his eyes away from the little boy, and hurried to open the door for John and Sam.

'What's wrong with him?' He asked as he lead them to the sofa in the living room.

'Long story, we'll tell you later, it's not too bad though, he just needs to sleep right now' John answered, accepting the blanket his old friend handed him and used it to cover his youngest son.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

A hand on his shoulder told Bobby that Dean had entered the house as well. He turned around to face two pairs of matching green eyes.

'Bobby, this is James. James, this is uncle Bobby'

'Like unca Sam?' The three year old spoke up.

'Yeah sort of like uncle Sam, though uncle Bobby is daddy's and uncle Sam's uncle' Dean explained

'But I'll be your uncle too little man' Bobby stated, reaching his hand out to ruffle the little boy's hair.

'You shoulda told me he was coming along too, I woulda child proofed the house' Bobby said in John's direction, who shrugged.

'That's okay Bobby, James won't touch anything he's not supposed to touch, will you James?' James shook his head, putting his thumb in his mouth and resting his head on his father's shoulder. 'I'll help you putting some stuff on shelves or something, later'

'Hey James, how about you sit here, draw something and watch over your uncle for a little while so that your daddy, Bobby and I can have a talk' John suggested, already fishing through one of the duffel bags he had just brought in. James didn't say anything as Dean lowered him to the floor, kneeled down in front of him and pressed a soft kiss on his forehead. His hand lingered a little longer on top of his head, but then he turned and followed his father and Bobby to the kitchen.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

Bobby moved to close the kitchen door, but Dean stopped him before he could . He needed to be able to see James and Sam. Still feeling guilty about not being there when the two of them needed him, he wasn't going to let either one of them get out of his sight for quite a while.

'Coffee?' Bobby didn't wait for the answer and poured three cups of coffee. He had a pot ready because he knew the Winchesters practically ran on coffee.

'So Dean, where did the kid come from' He asked, trying to get the conversation going.

'Well Bobby, there's a man and a woman and they…get naughty together and then…' Dean stopped his explanation when Bobby smacked him on the back of his head.

'Ya know what I mean boy' the old hunter scolded the smirking teen, throwing John an angry glance when he snorted.

'An old girlfriend of mine showed up with him. Apparently she got pregnant when she was 15, I was 16. Her father was abusive and she took him to me to get him away from the guy' Dean had lowered his voice and glanced over at James in the living room, to make sure he had no idea what they were talking about. But the boy didn't even look up from his drawing, the tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration making Dean smile.

He took a deep breath before he continued 'Chloe, she uh…she died when their house burned down' He whispered the last part, looking down on the floor, trying to hide the silent tear rolling down his cheek. He swore James had made him soppy, before the boy had come along he wouldn't even have thought about crying over a girl.

John noticed his eldest's discomfort and quickly added 'so James is tagging along for a while. But that's not really why we're here'. Bobby looked over at Dean before jumping in on the sudden change of subject.

'Ya going to tell me what happened to that other son of yours?'

'Yeah well, we don't know. That's to say, we can't be sure. I took Dean with me on a hunt for that Strix I told you about. We were only gone for the night, but when we returned to the motel someone had broken in and Sam was injured on the floor, he had James lock himself in the bathroom. He doesn't remember what happened yet, because of the concussion probably and James hasn't seen anything. We know they were attacked, we just don't know who or what did it and what they wanted.'

'Sam okay?' Bobby interrupted John who nodded in response.

'Yeah, he's broken his wrist, got a concussion and a stab wound just below the ribs. It wasn't too deep and the knife didn't do any damage inside the body. He got lucky, for a change. He just needs a lot of sleep right now, but he'll be fine'

'Any leads on who coulda done this?' Bobby queried, both Dean and John shook their heads.

'None whatsoever. Salt lines were still intact, there were no traces of sulphur and the EMF meter didn't show anything so that basically rules out anything supernatural. The police have been looking at the scene and they haven't found any traces of the guy that did it. The only way we can be sure is if Sam miraculously remembers what has happened.'

'Anyone ya pissed off lately?' Dean studied his father's face carefully for the reaction to Bobby's comment, anger flashed across his face for a second, but he straightened it before he answered

'I know I'm not the favorite guy of quite some people, but I don't think any one of them is capable of doing this.' All three hunters stared into the distance for a while, going over their thoughts in their heads. After a few minutes it was Bobby that broke the silence

'Yeah well, ya're welcome to stay here until it's safe for the little ones to be out on the road again'

***-*-*-*-*-***

Sam had woken up on the sofa of what looked like Bobby's house. He didn't know how he ended up here, last thing he remembered they were in the Impala on their way there. His cheeks reddened when he realized that meant either his father or brother had carried him inside. He hated when they did that, made him feel weak, especially if he was so out of it he couldn't even remember afterwards.

He tried to sit up, wincing when the movement pulled on the stitches in his chest, but was stopped by the voice of his nephew.

'No' The toddler stated, getting up from where he had been sitting on the floor.

'What?' Sam asked, still being half asleep the boy's action confused him.

'Unca Sam sleep' James pulled a serious face and put his hand on his uncle's chest like he had seen his father do in the hospital.

'Doctor said I make sure you sleep a lot' He explained when Sam didn't seem to understand where he was going with this.

'Yeah but James, I slept already, for a pretty long time so I can get up now, right?' He tried reasoning with his nephew. James simply shook his head and held his hand in place.

'Deeaaan' Sam whined, pouting when his brother appeared in the doorway and started laughing at him.

's not funny Dean' Maybe later he could argue that it was because of the concussion that he had let a three year old restrain him and had to call in his big brother's help to be released.

'What you doing buddy?' Dean knelt down next to James. For a moment there he had considered making Sam handle the situation on his own, because it was just too damn funny, but taking pity on his little brother he would help him out.

'Doctor said I make sure unca Sam sleeps a lot' Dean couldn't help but start his laughter up again, straightening his face only when he saw the matched pouts on the two youngest members of the family.

'I know she said that, and you're doing a really good job. Daddy's very happy you'll look after uncle Sam for him, but why don't we let him sit up for a little while so he can eat something. He'll go right back to sleep after that. ' James considered that for a few seconds and eventually nodded his head, withdrawing his hand from Sam's chest. Sam looked unimpressed by the promise he'd go right back to sleep after he had something to eat. Dean was sure he had planned on staying awake a bit longer than that, but he knew from experience that even a simple task as eating would take a lot out of his younger brother now.

'I'll make ya a sandwich' Bobby spoke up from where he and John had been watching the scene unfold. He went back into the kitchen as John made his way to his sons.

'So Sammy, how are you feeling?' He asked, putting the back of his hand on the boy's forehead to feel for a fever he knew probably wasn't going to be there.

'I'm fine' The hiss that followed the statement as Sam tried to get his feet under him made the lie obvious, but both John and Dean let it slide, though Dean hovered nearby his brother to catch him if he should fall.

'I'm fine Dean. I can walk, 'm not a baby' Sam slapped Dean's hand away when it came just a little too close for his liking. Dean smiled, glad his brother was back to being his usual bitchy self.

***-*-*-*-*-***

Dean had tried putting James to bed for over an hour because he desperately needed to have a talk with Sam, but the kid just wouldn't take a step back from his task assigned to him by the doctor. He had sat on his father's lap, thumb in his mouth just looking at his uncle sleep until he fell asleep eventually and Dean could carry him upstairs to bed. Coming back down he found Sam sitting up on the sofa, rubbing his eyes trying to clear them.

'Hey Sammy, could we talk for a bit?' He sat down next to his little brother and put his hand on his knee. Sam nodded meekly.

'Could you uh…tell me what you remember, you know…about that night?' Dean hadn't had the chance to talk to an alert Sam about this alone. He knew his brother well enough to know that the chance of anything Sam remembered being shared with him rather than his father, was pretty big.

It was a while before Sam opened his mouth 'I…uh…I…' Dean knew from the way his brother was stumbling over his own words that there was something bothering him that he hadn't let on yet.

'You can tell me Sammy, you know that right?' Sam didn't respond to the statement and Dean could see him swallowing compulsively, obviously trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. Putting his arm around his shoulders Dean tried to provide him with whatever comfort he could. Sam needed this release, the boy was emotional, wearing his heart on his sleeve, sometimes he just needed to cry and be miserable in order to move on.

'I don't know Dean, not really. I mean, I had a bad feeling about you guys leaving and I couldn't put that feeling aside. I know I probably wasn't much fun for James to be around, constantly staring out of the window and everything. He's an amazing kid, you know that, looks a lot like you. He told me that his bear would protect the both of us so I didn't need to be afraid anything was going to happen to us. And nothing happened when I put him to bed and I must've fallen asleep as well, because I remember waking up to some noise and I remember going to check it out, but that's it' He paused to take a big breath, wiping the tears that had fallen from his eyes as he spoke, away. Another big breath before he continued

'And it's so scary, and I'm beating myself up about it, because I know it has to be down there somewhere and it it's like trying to reach for something that's on the top shelf, and even though you stand on the tip of your toes, every muscle stretched as far as it could possibly go, you just can't reach it. But just knowing it's there makes you want to try and reach further to get to it, and I can't let it go. I know it might never come back Dean, I know that, but it's frustrating'

'It's okay Sammy' Dean whispered as he pulled his sibling to his chest, for once not caring about the obvious girly aspects of the action.

'You know what scares me the most is that someone or something out there did this to me and James, and as long as I can't remember who that was and why it happened, I don't know if they're going to come back for us' Sam confessed. Dean had to swallow back a lump in his own throat at the statement. The same thought had been bugging him for a while now too and that was bad enough without the added guilt that came from being the one not able to remember.

'I have to remember, to… keep you… and James… and dad safe' The last part became unintelligible as Sam broke down to sobbing.

'It's not your fault Sammy' Later he would come up with some very decent arguments to convince Sam that he should forgive himself, for what had happened and for not remembering anything, but right now he settled for just comforting him. Carding the fingers of one hand through his long hair, and rubbing his back with the other one he whispered 'It's okay Sammy, I've got you now, you're safe here with me' in the boy's ear, repeating the last words over and over again, like a mantra.

They remained sitting like that for what felt like hours, until Sam fell asleep and even then Dean didn't want to release his hold on his younger brother. About an hour later John walked into the living room, finding his sons bundled up together, both soundly asleep. A smile crept on his face as he covered them both up with a blanket.

'Goodnight boys, daddy will stand guard tonight' He couldn't help but whisper quietly to no one in particular. Sitting down on a large, comfortable chair, he settled in for the night.

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

**I know the ending's really cheesy, I guess it comes from watching the national fundraising tv show thingy for Haïti all night. I'll say beforehand I'm not sure when I'll be able to write again, but I'll promise to try and get it up as soon as I possibly can. Oh yeah and I wanted to thank everyone for sticking with me and all the sweet reviews and stuff. You guys rock!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sunday, when I was meant to be putting the final touches to this chapter I was chanel surfing. Until I heard two very familiar voices. Turns out they've started showing Supernatural on tv again, so I got a little distracted. We've started season 3 now, which means only 2 or 3 more years until we make it to season 5, yeah I know. But I've finished it now, so enjoy!**

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

'Oh come on, only for a few hours, and we won't leave the yard, I promise' The Winchesters had been at Bobby's for three days now and Sam found himself once again begging his family to be allowed off the sofa he had been inhabiting for the last few days. Right now he was trying to get his brother to agree to him taking James out to play in the yard whilst Dean worked on a car with Bobby and their father was out researching something.

He needed to get out of the house for a while, though not as antsy as his brother, Sam hated being stuck inside the house for a length of time with a passion as well.

'James will look after me, so there's no need to worry' Sam tried, Dean quirked his eyebrows. The boy was smart, getting James involved in this. He knew as well as Dean himself did that there was nothing he could deny the boy, the soft spot for him even bigger than the one for his little brother.

As if on cue James turned his pleading eyes on his father. He liked the idea of getting to look after his uncle, and playing with him in the yard. Denying him this would make the boy feel like his father didn't trust him and that was the last thing Dean wanted to happen. So sure enough he found himself agreeing to the plan.

'On one condition though, and that's that you'll stay where we I can see you, don't go running off. Look after each other, don't do anything stupid. And please Sam, take it easy, you're still not completely up to par so no wild games or anything.' Dean lectured the two youngest Winchesters.

'That's three conditions actually Dean' Sam shot back, letting it follow immediately by a 'I promise Dean' when he saw his older brother's face. James nodded obediently before getting up and grabbing Sam by his uninjured hand, pulling him towards the yard. Dean watched them go with a smile on his face, glad that his brother looked much better than he had a couple of days before. He waited a few minutes before he followed them outside to join Bobby.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

Bobby had gone through the shed and dug up a few of the toys Sam and Dean had used when they were little. He had kept them all that time, which Sam didn't really understand, but it came in handy now because Dean hadn't had the time, or the money, to provide a lot of toys for his son.

Sam was holding the football, feeling his older brother's eyes burning in his back, he thought back of the times they had used it together, before he knew the truth about what their father did, before he got dragged into a world he didn't like at all.

A sound somewhere to the right of him pulled him from his trip down memory lane. His head snapping into the direction the sound had come from he surveyed the area. He could've sworn he heard something, but there was nothing there. Sam tried to convince himself it was the recent attack that, having him on edge, made him hear things that weren't really there.

'UNCA SAM, COME ON' James was getting impatient, waving his arms wildly at his uncle in an attempt to get him to throw the ball to him. Sam grinned, forgetting about his worries for a second, and tossed him the ball, which bounced of the hands of the little boy who was desperately trying to catch it and disappeared somewhere behind a car. Without a second though James wondered after the ball, disappearing from sight as well.

'James!' Sam hissed, willing the boy to come back, but getting no response. Sam glanced over his shoulder at his brother, who didn't seem to be paying much attention to them at that very moment, before going after his nephew.

Rounding the corner, Sam found nothing 'James, where are you?' He spoke softly, hoping not to attract Dean's attention because he knew this was going to be the last time in a very long time, that he was being allowed outside to play with his nephew if Dean knew he had let him out of his sight. When he still didn't receive any reaction, and didn't spot the tiny boy anywhere he crept onwards, his senses on full alert. The sound he had heard earlier heightening his raising panic.

'James, come on, this is no time to play hide and seek. I promise if you come now we can play any game you want to' He called out softly. He would search for just one more minute before he would call Dean and Bobby in to help. He tried to convince himself that that wouldn't hurt, but he knew deep down that if something was seriously wrong one minute could be the difference between James coming back to them safely or something terrible happening to the little boy.

He cursed softly when the stab wound in his side gave him a hard time, he pressed his hand against the injury, trying to relieve the pressure, but didn't stop moving.

A soft cry made him stop and turn around, listening out for a repetition of the sound and at the same time trying to determine where it had come from. Quietly Sam made his way in the direction he decided would lead him to the source of the cry. He quickened his pace when he found James sitting on his knees, hands covering his face and his body shuddering with sobs.

'James! What's wrong?' He knelt down beside the boy, looking him over for injuries, thinking scraped knees or hands were the cause of the tears.

Sam had expected the sobbing to quiet down a little now that he was here, but instead it only got louder.

'You hurt anywhere?' Maybe yes or no questions would be answered. Without taking his hands from his face James shook his head. That and the fact he couldn't find any injury on his body convinced Sam that something else was going on.

'You scared?' This time James nodded.

'Were you lost?' Another nod 'Well you don't have to be afraid anymore, I'm here now. I'll take you home, to your daddy. Okay?' Sam didn't wait for an answer, lifted the toddler in his arms, forgetting about his own injuries for a while and started back towards the house.

'I think your grandfather might be home by now as well' Sam tried to make some conversation to make James feel a little more comfortable. James' eyes widened at the mention of his grandfather and started squirming to get out of his uncle's arms.

'No!' He practically yelled, and when he, because of Sam's broken hand, succeeded in his fight for freedom, he took off again.

'James!' For a second Sam stood frozen, his brain processing what just happened, before sighing loudly and hurrying after the three year old.

The boy was much faster than his little legs suggested, but Sam didn't stop to appreciate that. Right now he was just cursing the boy for taking them further and further away from the house. Surely Dean and Bobby had realized something was wrong by now and that meant there was no way Dean would let him out of his sight any time soon.

Finally he caught up with his nephew, scooping him up he was about to scold the boy for his rash actions when a crashing noise from behind them startled the pair. If it hadn't been followed by footsteps coming their way Sam would've been willing to believe it was nothing. As it was it seemed like they were in danger. If it had been Bobby or Dean or even his father, they would've called out to them, letting him know who was coming, with the way they were trained warnings like that were necessary in order not to get killed by friendly fire. Sam immediately went into protection mode, holding James close to his chest and breaking off into a run. The footsteps behind him sped up as well. Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to cover this one up anyway he screamed for his older brother at the top of his lungs and changed direction to get whoever it was that was following them off their trail.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

'Dean, they're not going to vanish if you look away' Dean glared at Bobby, who just grinned and turned his attention back to the car they were both working on. Dean looked up at his brother and son one more time before doing the same thing.

He couldn't stop himself from looking up a few minutes later to check on the two boys. But this time when he did, there was nobody there. He straightened up and looked again, taking a few steps in the direction he had last seen them.

'Sam? James?' He called when he didn't see them. Bobby looked up from what he was doing as well.

'Come on Dean, they probably just went to play hide and seek or something, or the ball got away and they've gone to fetch it'

'They promised me they would stay where I can see them, Sam knows better than to wander off just like that' Dean felt the panic in his chest rise, thinking about the recent events. He knew he shouldn't have let the two of them alone, even in the yard.

'Oh come on Dean, Sam's 15 years old, cut the boy some slack. You've been watching him like a hawk for the last three days, add to that the fact he hasn't been allowed outside and you and I both know we'd be going stir crazy' Bobby stuck up for Sam.

'That can be, but that doesn't mean he can take off with my three year old son. Especially not after what happened a few days ago' Dean didn't even want to think about any other possibilities of what could have happened, he was sure they had wandered off, followed a butterfly or something, like Sammy used to do when he was little, and didn't even think about what it would do to his nerves. After all, Sam's the dreamer type, it would fit right into his alley.

'Dean, calm down, would ya? I'm sure…' Bobby didn't get to finish his sentence, because at that moment Sam's voice sounded out.

'DEAN!' The older hunters sprung into action, going after the two youngest members or the family.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

Sam knew his way around the yard, he had played here often enough with his brother when they were much younger. Though everything had looked much bigger and impressive back then, not much had changed. So he wasn't going to get lost, but he didn't want to lead the…person chasing them, definitely not a ghost or a monster, there wouldn't be any footsteps to be heard if it was, straight to the house. He still heard him behind him, and he wasn't really getting further away either. He just hoped his brother and Bobby would come to his aide quickly so he could get James to safety.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

'Sam, where are you?!' Dean yelled once more.

'Over here!' Came the reply after a short while. Sam seemed pretty close by and sure enough within a minute he bumped into his younger brother who was carrying his son. His eyes were wide and he was continuously looking over his shoulder.

'Thank god Dean' He whispered, trusting James into Dean's arms before he had a chance to react. 'We gotta go, trust me' Was all Sam said before sprinting past him. Dean stood still a little longer, looking over at the crying boy in his arms, wondering for the second time in about a week what the hell had happened and how it could have happened on his watch.

'Dean' Sam hissed, he had stopped running and stood waiting for his brother and nephew, Bobby by his side, looking just as confused as Dean felt. But when he heard the footsteps, first coming closer and then stopping he put his arms protectively around his three year old, and followed after Sam and Bobby back to the house. They could deal with whoever was out there once they got Sam and James somewhere safe.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

'What the hell happened Sam?' They were barely inside, Bobby was still busy blocking the door and he hadn't even laid out the saltlines, but Dean couldn't wait any longer.

'We were just tossing a ball and James dropped it and went after it and before I knew it he was gone. And there was someone there, and I don't know how that was, but when I found James he was crying and he calmed down a little but then all of a sudden he just flipped and took off again'

'Breathe Sam' Dean interrupted his brother. Sam looked up at him and Dean recognized the fear in his eyes. He was about to cry, but tried to put on a brave face for the older hunters and his nephew.

'Did you see the guy, have any idea who it could have been?' Dean pressed for information, he knew that if he wanted to get anything out of his brother now would be the time. If he gave the adrenaline the time to completely leave his body, there was no way to know if Sam would remember anything, his mind blocking the experience one again.

Sam shook his head barely noticeable.

Bobby put the curtains he had been holding up while looking for any potential danger, back down and turned from the window.

'Dean, let's just wait for yer daddy to come back before we try to figure this one out, Sammy, let's get you upstairs and in bed, okay? I think whoever it was, he's gone now and probably won't be coming back for a while.' The oldest hunter spoke up, grabbing Sam by the elbow, not giving him a chance to reply, and started stirring him upstairs.

'Yeah well, just to be sure you are not going anywhere alone until we find out who's doing this. And when we do, I swear I'm going to kill the bastard' Dean grumbled, ignored the look Bobby was throwing him and followed the pair up the stairs. He was still holding James, who had laid his head down on his father's shoulder and the deep breathing told Dean he had fallen asleep. Putting James down in the bed with Sam, his little brother immediately slipping his arm around the toddler.

'You go to sleep now, me and Bobby will keep you guys safe' Dean whispered in Sam's ear, gently wiping the hair from his eyes. Sam mumbled something Dean didn't understand, closed his eyes and soon enough his breaths evened out.

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

**So much for chapter 7. There's a reason I keep putting James and Sam in these situations, you'll find out soon enough. Or well, that's the plan. I'd like to thank each and every single one of you who has read this chapter and especially the people who have reviewed, favorited or put it on alert. You guys are awesome!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy Valentine's Day! Finally I finished the next chapter. This story is just very slow going, which is why the chapters take me so long to get done. I had this one almost finished, then deleted half of it because it just didn't make sense and it's been like that for a lot of chapters. But at least it's going now, enjoy this chapter! **

***-*-*-*-*-*-***

'So we can be pretty sure it's nothing supernatural. The perimeters are secured, no demon's coming in here ' Bobby stated. He, John and Dean were sat at the kitchen table. Dean nodded, rubbing a hand across his face. He had been going over this in his head plenty of times, but he just couldn't think of anyone who would want to do this to either his brother or son.

'But who would do something like this?' He voiced the question he couldn't answer for himself.

'I don't know, I wish I did Dean, I really do' John answered. 'I've been going over this a couple of times, but I keep coming up blank' He added.

'Well whoever it is, he's a freaking coward for only going after Sammy and James, because the second we showed up he was nowhere to be found' Dean balled his fists and slammed them on the table, needing to take his anger out on something.

'We're gonna have to come up with something soon, yer brother ain't gonna be happy being locked inside the house much longer'

'Dean?' Sam asked sounding sleepy as he walked into the kitchen, right on cue.

'Sammy? I told you to get some sleep.' Dean was on his feet and by his brother's side immediately, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and guiding him to the kitchen chair his father had pulled out for him.

'I know, but I forgot to tell you something' Three pairs of eyes were turned onto the youngest hunter

'When I found James he seemed to be shocked, he was crying and not really saying anything. So I picked him up and carried him back to the yard, trying to calm him down and I sort of succeeded, because he had almost stop crying. Until I mentioned dad probably being home by now, he just freaked out screamed and managed to get away from me.' All eyes now focused on John, who shrugged.

'Were you there dad?' Dean questioned, feeling the anger beginning to boil inside his body. If his dad had something to do with this he was seriously going to regret it.

'No Dean, I wasn't and you know that' John snapped at his oldest son.

'Sorry sir' Dean replied, hanging his head in shame, of course he knew better.

'Sam, ya actually mention ya daddy, call him by his name?' Sam shook his head

'No, I said your grandfather's probably home by now. And that's when he lost it' Sam sighed a little.

'Sammy, you okay?' Dean asked, Sam shrugged, but a tear found its way down his cheek.

'If it wasn't for this stupid broken hand he wouldn't have gotten away from me and then I would've gotten him out of there much sooner. Hell, if I could remember what happened in the first place, we wouldn't even have been in this situation.'

'Come on Sammy, don't do this to yourself' Dean tried, putting his arm around his little brother's shoulders.

'It's the truth and you know it Dean' Sam said with a raised voice as he shrugged Dean's arm off.

'It's not Sam, ain't like you asked for a concussion' Dean had also raised his voice, hoping to get his point across.

'I've dealt with concussions before, never lost my memory from them.' The attitude Sam usually reserved just for his father was now turned on his older brother.

'I don't see why it's so important, you saved James, twice. What more do you need to know?' Dean effectively ended the discussion with that statement. Sam slumped further on his chair, head bent. John and Bobby who had watched the exchange quietly exchanged glances, but neither one of them moved to interfere.

'I'm sorry Sammy' Dean mumbled, kneeling down beside his little brother, putting his hand on his knee, trying to offer some comfort.

'Okay boys, I think it's time Sam went back to bed' John rose, ready to help his youngest back to bed, ignoring the raised eyebrows that were thrown his way by both Dean and Bobby.

***-*-*-*-*-***

'Dean, you okay son?' Bobby asked once John and Sam had left the room. Dean shrugged. It wasn't him they should worry about.

'I just don't know what to think anymore Bobby' he sighed. The older hunter was the only one Dean trusted with his true feelings. He knew that whatever was said would remain between the two of them and so his no chick flick reputation would remain intact.

Bobby didn't say anything, but let Dean continue.

'I don´t want to drag him around the country, have him with us when we´re hunting. I thought he'd be much safer if I would…settle down or something. But here we are, away from the hunt, at the one place I thought we'd always be safe and still I can't protect him. It´s like no matter what I do, I can´t keep him safe.' He swore to himself he wasn't going to cry, but he felt the need to do so anyway almost overwhelming. A warm hand fell on his shoulder, it lingered there for a few moments before it was lifted again and Bobby spoke.

'I'm sure you guys will be fine' And with that Bobby walked out of the kitchen, leaving a dumbfounded Dean behind. He hadn't really expected the old friend of the family to convince him to do one thing or the other, but he had at least hoped for a piece of advice or a nudge in the right direction. With a loud sigh Dean got up from his chair and followed Bobby to the living room, it looked like he was going to have to figure this one out on his own.

***-*-*-*-*-***

'DADDY!' Dean's eyes snapped open at the scream, his body instinctively setting into motion. He jumped off the sofa where he had apparently fallen asleep and took the stairs two at the time.

'DADDY! NO!' He quickened his pace even further, barging into the room that held his son.

Sam was holding James in his arms, looking absolutely terrified, James was squirming and screaming, tears streaming down his face.

'Hey buddy, what's going on?'

'He's had a nightmare. I'm not sure he's actually awake yet' Sam answered for him, reaching his arms out so that Dean could take the toddler from him. Dean pulled the boy close to his chest, wincing as his flailing feet kicked him over and over again. Rubbing his back Dean hoped James would calm down soon, because he could already feel bruises forming on his thighs.

'Daddy, daddy, no, he not here' James sobbed, trying to wriggle free from his father's strong hold.

'James, come on boy, wake up!' Dean whispered in his ear. When that didn't help he started rocking the little boy, hoping to at least calm the boy down a little. It seemed to work, because within moments James' body fell silent and his sobs quieted down a little. Still bouncing him in his arms Dean made his way to the stairs.

Behind him Sam moved to get out of bed. Dean saw him from the corner of his eyes and he was about to comment on it, suggest that Sam would stay in bed, but the look in his little brother's eyes told him that wouldn't go down well.

James' screaming had obviously woken up everybody in the house, because both John and Bobby were downstairs as well.

'Some coffee?' Bobby suggested. Dean looked at the clock, it was only 4 am, but what the hell. He didn't think he would be going back to bed after this. And from the looks of things, neither were the other hunters. He nodded an affirmative to Bobby and settled down on the sofa with James, who had now stopped his crying entirely, curled on his lap.

'You okay buddy?' Dean whispered, but the only reaction he received came in the form of a quiet snore.

'That's okay, we'll talk about it in the morning' Sam sat down beside him and leaned into his shoulder. Dean raised his arm and let Sam snuggle into his side before putting it around him and drawing him closer. The angry words exchanged between them earlier had been forgiven and forgotten.

John watched them with a mixture of envy and pride. He knew it was his own damn fault that Sam would always go look for comfort in Dean, knowing he'd find it there even after they'd had a fight, but it did hurt to acknowledge that his son would rather seek comfort in someone else than in his father. He had lost count on the number of times he had sworn to himself he'd do better by them. But every time the hunt had dragged him back in and he had been too weak to resist the temptation. Now that he saw Dean facing the same decision he had had to make so many years ago he had begun to think about it. And more and more he found himself wondering if he had made the right choice. Not that he hadn't asked himself that question over a thousand times over the years, but he just couldn't live with the idea that his sons would be unable to protect themselves against all the dangers in the world. If anything he had tried to give them a way to defend themselves from those evil sons of bitches so that he could relax a bit, knowing that he could leave them some day and they'd be safe.

'Earth to Johnny boy' Bobby stood before him, offering him a coffee. 'Where they hell were ya at?'

'Just thinking' John didn't elaborate on the matter any further, taking the offered mug and bringing it to his mouth instantly. Bobby shook his head, but didn't ask about it either.

'So…' Dean started, trying to break the uncomfortable silence in the room, but he didn't know what to say. After all, it was what most people considered to be the middle of the night and they had all been woken up by a screaming three year old. And that had apparently brought on the will to protect their youngest in all 4 hunters. So what do you talk about in the middle of the night when you want nothing more than to go back to bed, but your mind won't allow you to? It seemed the others were wondering the same thing, because no one said anything and remained staring into the distance.

'This is ridiculous, let's watch tv or something' Dean couldn't take the silence any longer and stood up to turn the tv on, quickly covering James' eyes when he saw what was on.

'Ah, how about a video?' Bobby offered, trying to hide the smirk on his face as Dean changed the channels, but kept coming up with the same thing.

'Speaking of ridiculous, you've gotta be pretty desperate to watch this. It's not even really porn, they're just trying to get you to call them and it's not like phone sex is a substitute for the real deal' John remarked.

'Sounds like you have some experience old man' Dean couldn't help himself, this was just too good of an opportunity to let slide. The angry glare that was thrown his way after that comment only made him laugh harder.

'Yeah yeah, laugh it up' John grumbled, though he had difficulty keeping his smile to himself. Tension finally broken, Dean pulled both Sam and James a little closer to his chest as Bobby started some old Batman movie he still had from when Sam and Dean were little.

***-*-*-*-*-***

'Dean, you absolutely certain Chloe's father died in the fire as well?' Bobby asked setting a plate down in front of Dean who looked up surprised. James and Sam were sound asleep and John had taken up watch in their room. At first Dean was reluctant to leave them out of his sight, but eventually had been convinced to go downstairs with Bobby, get some food into his system. They'd be safe with his father.

'Well…yeah...at least, that's what I've been told, there were two bodies found at the scene, why?'

'Ya've been told that, but ya haven't actually confirmed it?' Bobby ignored Dean's question.

'What's with the questioning? No I haven't confirmed it, I went back to my son as fast as I could.'

'Just go with me on this, would ya? Anyone identified the bodies?'

' I don't think there was much left to identify, I saw the house, it was burned to the ground. Anyone in it would've been…' Dean swallowed, it was still painful to think about the mother of his son dying in such a horrible way.

'Is there any change that either one of them made it out?'

'Bobby, where are you going with this?' Dean demanded, crossing his arms to get his point across.

'Sam said James went nuts when he mentioned ya daddy, right? But James seems fine with John, which got me thinking. What about his other granddaddy?'

'But, that can't be, right? He must've died…he can't have gotten away, there were two bodies. There's no way he could've… he didn't. He's dead Bobby, he has to be' Dean put his head in his hands. Bobby had to be wrong, he just had to.

***-*-*-*-*-***

**And there it was. I know there was a lot of emotional stuff in here, but I just had to get that over with. And about the tv program, I don't know what it's like in the USA, but over here that's all that's on after midnight. They actually call the program cupid, imagine that. It's just... well ridiculous. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Finally the next chapter and it felt like this one was coming from my toes. But the good thing is, I'm going on holiday tomorrow and usually I get a whole lot of writing done on holiday. So I'm hoping that'll happen this time too. We'll see, in the meantime enjoy this one.**

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_So what can I do to make __you happy  
__When the words don't mean a thing  
__Being silent as your crying isn't me  
_**Racoon - Blow your tears**

With a loud sigh Bobby put the phone down. He had been calling around, trying to get some more information about the fire, and the people who died in it. What they'd already suspected had been confirmed, there were two bodies, but they were too far gone to identify properly and because there was nothing that pointed towards a stranger being in the house at the time of the fire so nobody even thought of identifying them through dental records or anything. But he wasn't really sure what that meant.

'Any luck?' John walked into the kitchen, being released from his guard duty by Dean, who had only managed to stay out of the room for half an hour.

'Just what we thought. Nothing there to indentify from photo's, no cause to dig any further' Bobby answered, taking his ball cap off and rubbing his hand over his head.

'Which means?' John opened the fridge and helped himself to a beer, offering a second can to his friend.

'That nobody knows who died in that house' Bobby simply stated, replacing his cap and taking the offered beer from John. 'Which gives us something to think about' He added.

'Even if it's him, it makes no sense. What would he want with Sammy?' John asked.

'Maybe he doesn't want anything with Sammy and it's just a case of wrong place, wrong time for him. Ya said so yaself, at the motel he hid James in the bathroom before he could get to him, and here James went wondering off by himself before Sam caught up with him.'

'There any way we can be sure this guy died, or didn't die in the fire?'

'Short of digging up his corps and have them check his dental records, no nothing I can think of' Bobby answered.

'In that case I'm going to go with Dean here, he might not be after Sam, but he is not going anywhere without either one of us. Better to be safe than sorry.'

Bobby nodded, taking a swig of his beer. He felt sorry for the boy, being stuck inside the house, but he knew how protective the oldest Winchesters could get, so there wouldn't be a way around it. Besides that, it didn't sit right with him that there was nothing he could do to verify his suspicions, and he loved that boy like he was his own, so until they knew who they were dealing with, he too felt much better having him in sight at all times.

'So what do we do now?' It didn't seem like a question John would ask, hadn't been for years. Ever since Bobby taught him the ins and outs of the hunting world, he had been determined, always drawing his own plan. Bobby assumed it had something to do with being an ex marine and all, never willing to relinquish control. But here he was, asking his friend what to do next and Bobby found himself shrugging. He had honestly no idea what to do.

'Make sure both James and Sam are okay, hoping we can catch the guy in the act. Because this grandfather thing is only a hunch, who knows who could be behind all this.'

'You saying we should have Sam and James act as bait?'

'No, I'm not saying they should act as bait, ya idiot. Don't put words in my mouth' Bobby grumbled, damn Winchesters. Knowing John, he was likely to put it exactly like that to Dean and Sam, and he really didn't want to get on Dean's bad side if he didn't need to.

'But…?' John urged him to come up with a plan.

'But nothing, I'm just saying we should catch the guy in the act, and believe me, he's not going to back down. I mean he followed ya guys up here, he really means business. But I don't think he'll do something any time soon. He knows we're aware of his presence now so he'll have to wait before doing anything. Ya know, all I'm saying is, if he strikes again, we'll be ready for him' John nodded, Bobby was right. Whoever the hell was causing his family misery, if he tried it again, then he would be ready for him and make him regret ever touching his family.

***-*-*-*-*-***

'Mommy?' Dean shot up and rushed to his son's side. Taking him in his arms and snuggling him close he whispered comforting words in the boy's ear who was showing signs of waking up.

'Mommy?' He repeated, opening his eyes now.

'No buddy, it's daddy'

'Mommy, want mommy' James sobbed, trying to wriggle free from his father's hold.

'I'm sorry buddy, mommy's not here' Dean tried, thinking about it, he never had come round to explaining to the little boy what had happened to Chloe. He hadn't yet explained that his mommy was never coming back for him. Though with what Bobby had told him about his suspicions, he wasn't even sure of that anymore.

'Daddy, where mommy, I want mommy!' Little fists pounded on his chest and it was all he could do not to start crying himself at the desperation of the toddler.

'Look at me James' Dean stirred him by the chin to look him in the eyes, trying to get him to calm down.

'James' A bit sterner now, and this time he managed to get through to the boy.

'Listen to daddy James' Dean took a deep breath, how was he going to explain that mommy had died? How had his father explained it to him?

'I know you want your mommy, but mommy's not here buddy' He started 'You know when people go to sleep, and don't open their eyes anymore?' It would have been better if he had known beforehand if James had any experience with people dying.

'Like grandma?' Dean raised his eyebrow at the statement. He didn't know Chloe's mother had died, he had always assumed she walked out of the family. He was pretty sure that's what Chloe told him. But maybe they hadn't wanted James to know that sometimes people walked out of their family and they thought it would be better if he thought his grandmother was dead.

'Yeah sort of like that. You know your mommy, she went to sleep as well, and she didn't open her eyes. She went up to the sky' He had heard somewhere people explained it like that to little children. It seemed ridiculous, but if that made him understand it, he'd try it. James turned eyes filled with tears up to his father.

'She not coming back?' The sight nearly broke Dean's heart and he felt like such a bad guy for confirming it.

'No buddy, mommy's not coming back' He could no longer stop himself from crying as James broke down to sobs, seemingly understanding what it meant that someone was never coming back.

'I want mommy' He quietly said after the crying had died down a little.

'I know you do, I know you do' Dean whispered, pressing a kiss on the top of the three year old's head.

'Dean?' Sam had woken up from the commotion.

'Go back to sleep Sammy' Dean spoke tiredly.

'James okay?' Sam asked, sitting up and wincing as he did so. Dean turned to face his younger brother.

'He will be'

'What happened?' Dean sighed, it didn't look like Sam was going to let this go

'Nothing , now go back to sleep. We'll talk in the morning' That came out harsher than had been intended. The rustle of covers made him assume Sam had decided to give in.

'Dean?' Or maybe not. 'I'm not a baby you know, you can say these things to me, it's not like I'm going to crack if you put too much weight on my shoulders or anything' Dean snorted, a typical Sam argument.

'Yeah well if you hadn't just suggested that telling you would be putting too much weight on your shoulders, I might have told you in the morning, now, I'm not so sure.'

'Dean!' Sam whined, Dean smirked.

'Real mature Sam, that goes a long way to prove you are not a baby'

'Jerk'

'Yeah right Sammy, go back to sleep, we'll talk tomorrow' Sam threw a glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table

'It's only 7 man' He argued, once again sitting up.

'It is, and you need a lot of sleep, so I suggest you go right ahead and get it' A loud sigh from the other bed followed, but Sam didn't say anything else and instead dropped his head on the pillow.

'Good boy. Now I'll take James downstairs for a bit so he won't wake you up. You'll be okay by yourself?'

'Fifteen years old dude' Dean laughed, taking James with him as he got to his feet and walked out of the room.

***-*-*-*-*-***

'Morning Sammy' Dean had gone to check on his younger brother about an hour after leaving the room with James, only to find him sound asleep and much to his surprise the teen had slept through the night. He might have denied it, but Sam really did need his sleep. Which was no wonder, because the concussion hadn't worn off yet and with the stress from the last few days added to the mix he was bound to be exhausted.

'Morning' Sam replied, using his good hand to stifle a yawn, but it didn't get past Dean's watchful eyes.

'Take a seat Sam, I'll get ya some breakfast' Bobby said, standing up before Sam even had a chance to respond.

'I made pancakes, that alright with ya?' He asked, though he knew he shouldn't have bothered asking. Sam's eager nod brought a smile to his face.

'Hey James, you okay?' Sam asked, sitting down next to his brother and turning his attention to his nephew. James nodded slightly, but didn't seem all that happy.

'You liking the pancakes' The nod that followed showed a little more enthusiasm.

'James is just a little tired, unlike some people in this family he didn't get all that much sleep last night' Dean explained, a cheeky grin appearing on his face as Sam pulled a face at him.

'Dean, give your brother a break' John scolded his oldest son.

'Sorry Sammy' Dean mocked, ducking to avoid the swat aimed at the back of his head.

'James, what do you say we write a little more today?' Sam completely ignored his brother's antics.

'Now now Sammy, don't go turning my son into a geek' Dean was having way too much fun getting on his brother's nerves to back down.

'Yes please unca Sammy' James spoke up and for the first time in days he seemed thoroughly enthusiastic about something.

'That's good, we'll get you smarter than your daddy in no time' Alright, Dean figured he deserved that. Though he wasn't too pleased with the way his father and the family friend laughed at him.

'So, what's going on?' Sam started, whilst digging into the pancakes Bobby had set before him.

'Nothing Sammy' The oldest three shared a look that Sam missed.

'Dean, you promised to tell me in the morning'

'Not now Sam' Dean motioned with his chin towards the youngest member of the family, who was now happily copying his uncle's movements and stuffing the last pieces of pancake that he had been pushing around his plate for a while into his mouth.

'Why don't I take James to wash up a bit, so that you three can have a talk' Bobby offered, lifting James from Dean's lap and exiting the kitchen.

'So…?' Sam said when neither his father nor his brother started speaking.

'We might have an idea who's behind all this. When you told us about the way James reacted when you mentioned his grandfather, Bobby started thinking. It obviously had nothing to do with me, because I wasn't there, but what if his other grandfather was?' John explained

'How could it be, he's dead, right?'

'We think he is yeah, but we can't be sure. Nobody bothered to check who died in that house. All we know now is that two people died there and because they figured it was obvious who it were, they didn't check dental records or anything. Anybody could've died there' Dean answered Sam's question.

'And now what?'

'There's nothing we can do Sam, we don't know for sure whether it's this guy. James doesn't seem to know and I don't really want to go and make him remember'

'We can only hope to catch the guy in the act' John stated, throwing a glance at his youngest son.

'So, let me lure him' Upon seeing the look his brother was giving him he continued 'What? That's what you've been thinking right? You guys think the only way to catch this guy is for me to act as bait. So let me' Sam had risen his voice and straightened up in his chair. He really needed to do this.

'If it is this guy, than he won't come after you Sammy, there's no reason to put you in danger if we don't even know for sure if it's this guy. If we want to go down that road, either me or dad or Bobby could take James out' Dean was firm in his answer too. He wasn't going to let his baby brother do this.

'Dean, you said so yourself, if it's this guy, he won't be coming after me, I won't be in danger. Then again, it could be someone else entirely, someone that wants me and he won't be coming after you guys. Besides, I highly doubt he'd dare to show himself if either one of you guys takes James out. He hasn't done so before, waited for me to be alone with James. Especially now, he knows I'm weakened, he'll take his chances. We could be going round in circles for ages if you don't let me do this' Sam reasoned. Dean hated when he did that, he knew full well that Sam was right, and there was nothing he could say to argue with him, but he just didn't want him to do this.

'We'll talk about this later. You're right Sam, it's certainly something to think about. But if we do end up doing this, we'll make damn sure that nothing can happen to you or James' John said and got up, ending the discussion with that statement. They did have a lot to think about, because he hadn't been kidding. He wasn't going to let his son and grandson risking their lives if he couldn't be absolutely sure either one of the older hunters would be there to prevent anything bad from happening to them.

***-*-*-*-*-***

**I realized there was something I hadn't dealt with yet. Done that now. I figure there'll be about two or three more chapters left. I'd like to thank everyone that has taken interest in this story, by reading, but especially by reviewing, favoriting or putting alerts on the story, I can't say it enough. You guys are awesome! If it takes me real long to get back to your reviews, it'll be because of my holiday, but I will try to get back to you all as soon as I can.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm back**

'Come on James, let's make you smarter than your daddy' Sam walked into the living room, arms full with writing stuff he had gotten from his duffel upstairs, throwing a teasing glance in Dean's direction as he did. James giggled softly, to which Dean replied with a mock glare in James' direction.

'What d'ya wanna do?' Sam asked, taking James by his hand and leading him to the kitchen table, depositing the stuff he had been carrying on it and clumsily helped James on a chair.

James bend towards Sam and whispered something in his ear, before breaking into giggles again, a smile appearing on Sam's face as well.

'Okay, we'll ask your dad for the coloring pencils, because I forgot them'

'Dean!' 'Daddy!'

'Do it yourself Sam' He turned his attention back to the tv, doing his best to ignore his brother and son.

'Daddy, you get coloring pencils?' James asked in a sweet voice, no doubt Sam had put him up to that.

'Tell your uncle that he can do it himself' Sam held up the arm encased in a cast as if that explained why he couldn't go up the stairs and get the pencils himself.

'Please?' Two pairs of puppy dog eyes were turned on him. He sighed loudly and stood up, one of these days he was going to resist that look.

'I thought you were going to write' He grumbled as he unceremoniously dropped the pencils on the table.

'Need to draw daddy' James offered as an explanation.

'What are you going to draw?'

'Surprise' Dean decided to leave it at that and went back to his tv show. Behind him Sam and James seemed to be having fun, giggling and whispering. Dean had looked up at them once, to find both of them bend over a piece of paper, James' eyes narrowed and face scrunched up in concentration, Dean snorted to himself. Really, the pair of them looked a lot alike. If he didn't know any better he'd say that they were father and son.

***-*-*-*-***

'Daddy you read a story?' Dean had been so focused on the tv, a really cool old horror movie was on, that he hadn't noticed the little one walking towards him. He was carrying one of Bobby's book, or more like dragging it along with him, because it was too heavy for him to lift. Dean quickly took the book from him and looked it over for any damage.

'Read you a story, are you going to bed yet?' He teased, James shook his head furiously.

'For unca Sam!' Surprised Dean looked at the kitchen table where James and Sam had been sitting earlier. Sure enough Sam was slumped over it, obviously having dropped off in the middle of his 'teaching' session.

'I see, and you want me to read from this book?' Dean asked, holding up the book James had brought to him.

'Uhuh, unca Sam read it, I saw it!' He declared, climbing on the couch and depositing himself on his father's lap.

'But if he's asleep, he can't hear me read the story, can he?' James shrugged

'So shall I read you a story?' Dean knew what James had been going for and the way the kid nodded, putting his thumb in his mouth and wiggling to get into a comfortable position confirmed it.

'Okay, let's see what your uncle Sam has been reading' Dean balanced the book on one knee, shifting James so he sat on the other and opened the book. It was in Latin and Sam had most probably been looking at it to try and translate it. He would need to have a word with his little brother about that one.

'Well it's not a book with pictures' Dean apologized, he was going to have to make a story up, because there weren't any children's books anywhere that he could think of. Maybe Bobby had kept some somewhere, he would have to ask about that sometime.

'Okay, once upon a time there was a family who went bear hunting' He remembered this story from a long time ago, wasn't quite sure what the exact words were, but he'd think of something

'We're going on a bear hunt; we're gonna catch a big one. I'm not afraid, are you? Not me'

'I'm not afraid!' James broke in, quickly replacing the thumb in his mouth.

'We're coming to a tall mountain; it sure is high; it sure is wide; let's climb up it; well there's nothing over there; nothing over there; nothing back there; Hey wait! I think I see something; Quick, everybody run down!' Dean looked at James, who was listening intently

'We're going on a bear hunt; we're gonna catch a big one. I'm not afraid, are you? Not me' Dean continued the story, knowing he missed a few parts here and there, but it wasn't important, because James didn't seem to notice and enjoyed it all the same.

'There you go, think your uncle Sam liked it?'

'He did' James got off Dean's lap and walked back to the kitchen, climbing on the chair he had vacated and reached for the drawing he had been making with his uncle.

'Here daddy, see what I made' James exclaimed, jumping off the chair and making his way back to his father. But his foot caught on the chair and in his hurry he tumbled forwards, flat on his face. For a second he remained absolutely quiet and Dean held his breath. Then he let out a loud wail. Dean jumped off the couch at the same time as Sam's eyes shot open.

'James! You okay?' Dean knelt down beside the crying little boy and pulled him to his feet, leaning him against his chest. Sam came to kneel down on the other side of him, putting his hand on the small back to offer some comfort.

'Is he okay?' He asked quietly. Dean held James at arm's length so he could have a proper look at him before he answered. He had a split lip from where he bit down during the fall, but other than that he seemed okay.

'Are you hurt anywhere else James?' James nodded and pointed first to his lip, then to his foot.

'Okay, let me see' Dean rolled up James' jeans a little so he could look at the foot. The ankle was starting to swell already, but he couldn't feel any broken bones. James winced as he pressed his finger on a particular sore part.

'Sorry buddy. We'll put some ice on it' He got to his feet and went to get an icepack.

'Ice cream?' James pouted.

'Yeah, we can get some of that too' Dean smiled. He was pretty sure Bobby had some ice cream in his freezer. He always seemed to have that when they were around, especially when they were little.

'Sam, take him to the couch would you?' He didn't get an answer, but the shuffling of feet told him his little brother had complied.

Armed with an icepack he had carefully wrapped in an old towel, the first aid box and some chocolate ice cream he walked back into the living room where Sam was seated with James on his lap.

'I think it's just a sprain' Dean answered his brother's unasked question. Sam nodded and waited till Dean had sat down before lifting James from his lap and putting him on Dean's. He took the towel with the ice from Dean and held it down on the offending limp with one hand and used the other one to hand Dean the ice cream and a spoon.

Dean spoon fed the ice cream to his son, which earned him a soft giggle from the boy.

'Is your foot not too cold?' Sam asked from his position on the floor, still pressing the towel on the foot. James shook his head and opened his mouth again for his father to feed him more ice cream.

'So what happened?' He asked.

'James wanted to show me something, caught his feet on the chair and fell' Upon hearing the explanation James' eyes widened and he started crying again.

'What is it?' Dean asked shocked, he had not foreseen these tears.

'You not seen my drawing yet. And I worked hard on it. Was a surprise for you' James sobbed.

'Hey buddy, that's okay. You can show it to me later' Dean tried to convince the toddler, but he wouldn't hear of it.

'No now' He whined

'Okay, your uncle will get it for you' Dean said, motioning Sam to go and fetch the drawing for him. Sam rose his eyebrows and glared at him, but got up without saying a word. James stopped his crying instantly when Sam came back into the room, holding the paper in front of him.

'Here you go' He handed the drawing to James, who gave it to Dean. It was a big heart, with two stick figures underneath it, both had yellow triangles on their heads which he assumed to be their spikes. On top of it was shakily written I love you daddy.

'See, that you' James pointed towards the slightly bigger stick figure. 'And that me. Unca Sammy wanted on the drawing, but it for you'

'You did that all by yourself?'

'Uhuh. Unca Sam writted in on a piece of paper and I writted it on here'

'Wrote James. I wrote it on a piece of paper, and you wrote it on here' Sam corrected 'What?! You wanted me to teach him some things, I am teaching him. If you don't correct him he could learn it wrong' Sam defended when Dean threw him an annoyed look. Dean just shook his head, he wasn't even going to bother responding to that one.

'You wanna watch some tv?' He decided to ask James instead. Without waiting for an answer, because even if James didn't, the silence was driving him crazy, he turned the tv on and changed the channel until he found some cartoon.

'Think there's any ice cream left for me?' Dean handed Sam the spoon.

'You gotta be fast, because this ice cream monster might eat it all before you get to it' He teased, gently tickling James, much to the little one's delight.

'You think that's okay now?' Dean asked, looking at James' ankle. Sam removed the towel and inspected the ankle closely, grabbing James' toes and slightly twisting his foot, waiting for a response from his nephew.

'Ouch, unca Sam!' James tried pulling his foot away, but Sam had a good hold on it.

'Well it hasn't turned blue or anything and I don't think it's swollen much further' He stated, Dean nodded, he had come to the same conclusion.

'Could you wrap it up?' Sam held up his casted hand indicating he couldn't. With a loud sigh Dean traded places with Sam. Taking the bandage from the first aid kit he started wrapping the ankle.

'What you doing daddy?' James asked, looking down at his father curiously.

'I'm putting this on your ankle so that you can get better.' Dean didn't know how else to explain.

'Like unca Sam?' James' gaze went over to Sam's casted hand.

'Yeah, like Sam. You're just as much of a klutz as your uncle'

'I'm not a klutz' Sam shot back, James just looked confused.

'What a klutz?' He asked, Sam could barely stifle a laugh at the face his brother pulled.

'You are' James seemed satisfied with that answer, because he didn't ask any further.

'So, and now you, young man, are going to stay off your feet for a while. That means you are not allowed to walk' Dean said, patting the wrapped foot slightly.

'But…' James started to protest, the idea of not being allowed to play absolutely terrified him.

'If you want to go anywhere, you have to ask one of us, and we'll help you okay? I'm sorry buddy, but you can't go running around and play any wild games' Dean felt sorry for his son, who nodded his head meekly. Dean suspected that he'd come to realize exactly what that meant a little while later and then the protests would follow.

Hoisting James up and setting him on his hip he made his way to the kitchen, he did promise Bobby to have lunch ready when he and his father would return from their trip into town to get some parts.

***-*-*-*-***

'Dad, just let me do this' Sam knew he sounded like a whiny brat, but he really needed his father to agree to this. He wanted to do it, sooner rather than later and preferably right now. Everybody was here now and it would be a few hours before the sun would set so he didn't see why they would have to wait any longer. They couldn't tell him they needed to prepare or anything, all they needed to do was make sure they'd be outside in the yard somewhere so they could help him out if needed. He was ready for it now.

'Sam, James can't walk right now, which means you'll have to carry him. You're in no shape to do that' John reasoned

'I'm fine' Sam shot back, his jaw setting, something he tended to do when he was not getting his way.

'So I only imagined you falling asleep at the kitchen table whilst drawing with James this morning. Drawing Sam, not exactly the most tiring activity' Dean was not in the mood to argue with Sam. Normally he would try to see his brother's point, but this time he was just really annoying. They had gone over this a few times now and Sam just kept insisting that he was up for the job. Sure, Dean knew that if anyone of them should do this, it had to be Sam, but not right now. Not when he was still not fully recovered from his concussion and his hand was still in a cast.

'I carried him out before, didn't I? And I was fine then as well, but you guys just don't trust me to do this. You still think I'm a baby and can't be trusted with anything. Well, I'm sick of it!' And with that Sam ran out the front door, slamming it shut on his way out.

'SAM, DON'T!'

***-*-*-*-*-***

**Before you say anything, I don't have a clue why I did that to James, just because my ankle swoll up drastically changing the plans of the entire family, doesn't mean James had to pay for that. I'm sorry. ****Oh, and you can totally look like your uncle. I look more like my cousin than our mothers, who are sisters, do. People often think I'm my aunt's daughter. **

**Now onto another note, I'm seriously doubting what to do with this story. I can end it the next chapter, or I can drag it out a little, get more James moments into it. What are your thoughts on that? **


	11. Chapter 11

**Change of plans. Thanks to the amazing BlueSteelLove1207 who gave me a great idea to continue this story. So credits go to her for this. I apologize for making you wait this long, I hope it was worth it. Also thanks to everyone who left me feedback, and tried to help me decide what to to with this story. You all rock. **

***-*-*-*-*-***

'SAM, DON'T!' Dean cried, getting to his feet to chase after his little brother.

'Dean, leave him be' Bobby, who had heard the arguing and had decided to come see what it was about before it all got out of hand, tried. Dean shook his head.

'We don't even know if it is who we think it is, it could be someone else completely and that person could be after Sam, it's too dangerous for him' Halfway through explaining to Bobby why he needed to go after his brother he decided he was wasting time just standing here and talking about it instead of actually getting his brother back in the house and had moved towards the front door.

'SAM!' He couldn't see his brother anywhere, but that didn't mean anything in itself, he had always been able to get away from Dean if he really wanted to. Bobby and his father came up behind him, Bobby carrying James in his arms. Dean only stood still for a second, quickly searching the yard with his eyes and finally just running out, he had an idea where Sam could be and he hoped he was right.

'Where are you going Dean?' John yelled after his oldest son. He wasn't looking forward to going on a wild goose chase, so if Dean had any idea where they had to start looking, he was all for that. His eldest however, gave no indication of even hearing him.

'I guess there's nothing better we can do than to follow the idiot' Bobby suggested, shrugging his shoulders at John's questioning glance.

Both older hunters took off after Dean and caught up to him when he suddenly stopped running.

'What is it Dean?' John asked, Dean turned to face his father.

'I thought he'd be here, he always hides right here' Dean kicked the tire of the car he was standing in front of in frustration.

'And Sam probably knows ya know that too' Bobby offered.

'Yeah, or he is in serious trouble' Dean snapped 'I'll take James' He added, taking James from Bobby and running off again. Bobby and John shared a look.

'Might as well split up and see if we can find the boy' John said, he wasn't too worried about Sam, Dean tended to overreact a little where his baby brother was concerned.

'Meet back up at the house in twenty' Bobby said and went in the opposite direction Dean had just gone to, he too had some tricks up his sleeves.

***-*-*-*-***

Dean set James on his hip as he slowed his pace.

'SAM!' he tried once again. Of course he didn't get a reply and he wasn't sure if that should worry him or not. If his brother was brooding, which he was likely to do after the fight they'd just had, then no, he wasn't going to answer. If he was in some kind of trouble he'd call for help, unless of course he found himself unable to. Once that thought had crossed his mind he couldn't stop thinking about it.

'Damn it Sammy' He muttered under his breath, hoping James didn't hear it.

'Daddy, what we doing?' James asked all of a sudden.

'Your uncle is playing a game of hide and seek and we have to find him. You going to keep an eye out for him too?' James nodded, sticking his thumb in his mouth and looking around trying to locate his uncle.

'He's a good hider, isn't he?' Another nod, James obviously didn't feel like talking much right now.

'You tired buddy?' James carded his fingers through his son's hair, who didn't even bother responding, but a big yawn told Dean all he needed to know. He'd prefer to put James in bed for a nap, but he wasn't going to go back inside before they'd found Sam and he wasn't comfortable leaving James alone in the house either.

'Once we've found your uncle you're going straight to bed mister' He quickened his pace again, hoping to speed things up a little. The sooner they'd find Sam, and thus the sooner James would be safely inside, tucked in bed, the better he'd feel.

***-*-*-*-***

'SAM?' Bobby yelled again, he glanced at his watch, still about 10 minutes left before he had to meet John and hopefully Dean and Sam back at the house which meant he could go a bit further. There were a few places he'd known to look, but his money was on a different one, almost at the back of the yard. This wasn't the first time Sam had wandered off alone in the yard, Bobby remembered a time, about 7 or 8 years ago now, when Sam had gone missing. He hadn't known how much he cared about those boys until that very moment. Dean was sick and he had put the boy to bed, something had seemed off about Sammy, but he couldn't put his finger to it and because the older brother was too stubborn to look after himself, Bobby had been too busy to really stop and wonder about it. Something he'd deeply regretted the moment he came back downstairs, expecting to find the youngest Winchester in the living room, drawing, or watching a cartoon, but instead found the house empty. A full hour of searching, hoping and praying the boy had stayed in the yard, needing time to think or something and nothing bad had happened to him and he was getting pretty desperate by that point, had lead him to an old wreck from where a soft sobbing could be detected.

Sammy had climbed up in the old car and was lying on the remains of the bench, curled in on himself, crying quietly. From what he understood of it, the boy needed to think and had just continued running until he found a place where he felt safe. There had been a few times after that day that he had discovered the boy hiding out at the exact same spot, trying to clear his mind. Dean or John had never known about it, and he hadn't shared his knowledge with them, not wanting to break Sam's trust in him. He hadn't had the heart to get rid of the wreck either. Surely this would be where he would find Sam, he had just gone here to clear his mind and he would be in that same car and nothing would be wrong with him.

'Sam?' He spoke softly, carefully making his way to the car. Sure enough, there he was, sitting on the floor of the car, knees drawn up to his chest, chin resting on his knees, making himself as small as he possibly could, which wasn't an easy task considering the inches the boy had grown the last few months.

'We've been looking for ya' He said, Sam shrugged. 'We were worried' Another shrug, Bobby was sure those words meant more to the teen that he was willing to show.

'Ya know, it's dangerous for ya to be alone here. And I know you can take care of yaself, I just rather ya wouldn't hafta.' He explained

'Do you? Because you all say you do, but when push comes to shovel, none of you trusts me with the important stuff.' Sam only lifted his head enough to look the older hunter in the eye. Bobby sighed as he leaned on the car.

'Ya know that ain't true Sam. Ya just have the bad luck to be the youngest, other than James, and have a very overprotective brother and father. They would trust ya with their lives and ya know it, but they would never let that on, and they would do everything to protect ya, like it or not, those two dickheads love ya' Bobby concluded, not looking at Sam as he was speaking, but looking up now to gauge his reaction. Sam sighed a little and his shoulders sagged even further, he had gotten the message.

'Yeah well, it sucks' He mumbled, grabbing a loose part that was lying on the floor and threw it away. Bobby winced when it hit the ground with a loud clang, but he didn't say anything. He had learned from past experience that sometimes it was best to let Sam feel sorry for himself, he would come around eventually.

They remained seated like that a little longer, neither of them saying anything, both just lost in thought when another glance at his watch told Bobby he was already too late.

'Sam, ya father and brother are waiting for us. Ya coming with me?' Without a word Sam got to his feet and climbed back out of the car. That went easier than he'd thought it would, but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Bobby put his arm around the boy's shoulder and walked beside him back to the house.

***-*-*-*-***

'What do you say we go back to the house to see if your grandfather or uncle Bobby has found your uncle Sam?' Dean suggested after he had walked around with James in his arms for over half an hour. If Sam hadn't returned yet, perhaps he could convince Bobby or his father to stay back with James, he was getting a little tired from carrying the boy on his hip all the time.

Just as he was about to turn around and make his way back to the house he heard something behind him.

'Sammy?' He asked, turning back in the direction of the sound. He didn't receive a reply, but that didn't surprise him all that much. If Sammy was brooding, he was going to keep quiet, hoping that Dean would walk past.

'Sammy?' He tried again, a little more urgent this time. Dean moved in the direction he had heard the sound come from, but didn't see anything. He could've swore he heard something, but perhaps it was just him mind playing tricks on him because he was worried about his younger brother. He tried to convince himself that was exactly what had happened, but his hunter instinct kept telling him not to fall for that.

'You heard something too, didn't you buddy?' James nodded before lying his head back down on his father's shoulder, he was thoroughly done with this search, but Dean couldn't help but explore a little further, he was sure someone was out there. He put James down on the floor, hidden between a couple of cars and whispered in his ear to remain seated and to be very quiet. Looking back to make sure James couldn't be easily spotted, Dean carefully made his way around one of the cars, Dean fully expected to be met by the mop of his brother's brown hair. Instead he found an older man, whose hair was turning grey. He had to look twice to be sure, but he instantly knew who this guy was. He had seen him when Chloe had taken him home for the first time. It had seemed like a nice enough guy at the time, but knowing what he knew now, he saw a monster. It appeared as though the guy was still hoping Dean hadn't noticed his presence as he was crouched down, head pulled between his shoulders, making himself as small as he possibly could.

With barely contained anger Dean grabbed the guy by his hair and pulled him up, realizing only when he went to reach for his gun he didn't have any weapon on him, afraid that James would get his hands on it and it would end badly.

'What the hell are you doing here?' Despite everything he had heard about the guy, he was surprised at the venom he saw in his eyes.

'You' The guy snarled, and when he reached back in his waistband he did come up with a knife.

'What do you want?' Dean inched back a little considering his possibilities. He didn't have a weapon to defend himself, and he had to think of James as well. He couldn't be taking any unnecessary risks, because if he went down, James would be entirely unprotected.

'What I want? I want that tiny monster to pay for what he has done'

'What the hell did he do?' Current strategy: keeping the guy talking, hoping he would get distracted at which time Dean could try to overpower him.

'He took my daughter from me. She changed after he was born you know, wouldn't let me in anymore' Still pointing the knife in Dean's direction the guy wiped his nose on his sleeve, taking his eyes of Dean for a second, who chose that time to charge at him.

'Wrong move buddy' Was all he heard before he felt an elbow being rammed on the back of his head and he crumpled down. That was so not part of the plan.

***-*-*-*-***

'Don't you ever run off like that again Sam' John spoke firmly, grabbing his youngest son by the elbow and dragging him towards the house. Sam tried to wriggle his arm free from his father's hold, but was unsuccessful.

'You know full well why we wouldn't let you out, and you go and put yourself in danger. I don't care if you feel you have to defy everything I say, you know who's in charge here and damn if I'm going to let you forget that'

'John' Bobby interfered, trying to get his friend to calm down a little.

'Get your butt inside now, we're not done talking about this yet' Sam sulked, but did walk towards the house.

'John, where's Dean and James?'

***-*-*-*-*-***

**I know this chapter was still a bit slow going, but I'm about to change that, I hope, so bear with me. Oh and I know I suck at the curse words, but I guess they don't teach you that in English class, and besides I didn't want to have to change the rating on this story. **


	12. Chapter 12

**I would very much like to thank everyone that thought with me on this chapter, especially Samgirl19. And everyone else that has read, reviewed, favorited or put alerts on this story. Thank you all very much, you are the reason I keep writing.**

***-*-*-*-*-***

When he woke up he had no idea where he was and how he got there. It didn't take him long however to realize he had been an absolute idiot by breaking one of his dad's first rules: whatever you do, never underestimate your opponent. And he had gone and did just that, and in doing so, he had endangered his son. His son, who could be anywhere right now.

'James' He whispered, though he was fairly sure he was alone in the room. As expected, he received no answer. He needed to get out of there, but first things first, he needed to figure out where he was. Dean got to his feet, and walked around the room, with his hand held to the wall, trying to get his bearings. He couldn't see much, the only light coming from under a door, which wasn't nearly enough to light up the entire room. But from what he could gather the room was pretty much bare. Not only was there nothing in it, there appeared to be no window, not even boarded shut ones. He wondered what kind of room would have no windows in it, a basement seemed most likely, but then again there wouldn't be a door with light coming from underneath it if he was in a basement. He stopped at the door and felt for a handle, which wasn't there. He banged on it, hoping someone was going to come in to silence him, giving him a better idea of what was going on and perhaps a chance to escape and find his son. Nobody came however and after a while he was beginning to tire. He gave yelling a go too, but that didn't seem to work either. The fact that he had no idea where his son was, or how he was doing, didn't sit right with him and it made him feel quite helpless.

'JAMES!' He tried one more time, before sinking back down to the floor. Until he heard footsteps right outside the door, and he was back on his feet, ready to face whoever it was.

***-*-*-*-***

They had been looking for what felt like hours, but there was no sign of his older brother and nephew. Sam felt guilty as hell for endangering them by running out of the house and forcing them to come look for him.

'You found them?' He asked hopeful when his father walked back into the house. He just grumbled something and walked past his youngest son. So he wasn't forgiven yet, probably wouldn't until Dean and James were found.

'We'll find them Sam' Bobby, who had been walking right behind John, tried to reassure him. Sam shrugged, of course they were going to find Dean and James, he was going to be making sure of that, but it didn't really make him feel any better.

He mustered up all his courage and followed the two older hunters into the kitchen.

'I want to help' He said. His father and Bobby both turned to face him, but his father looked away again.

'Better if you don't. You've done enough' Though he had sort of expected a reaction like that, to actually hear his father say the words hurt. He blamed himself enough for the both of them, he didn't need his father to increase that weight on his shoulders.

'But dad, let me try to fix this' It was like talking to a wall, his father didn't even look in his direction again and continued scribbling something on a piece of paper that was lying in front of him.

'Dad…please' He pleaded, turning his puppy dog eyes on full force, but they wouldn't work if the person you were trying to convince wasn't even looking at you. A tear silently escaped his eyes. He wiped it away furiously, he didn't want to cry, he was sixteen for heaven's sake.

'Sam, why don't you go to bed for a little while, get some rest?' Bobby suggested, stirring Sam into the direction of the bedroom the boys usually shared when they stayed at his place.

'I don't want to sleep Bobby, how can I sleep when because of me James and Dean could be anywhere. If anything happens to them, I could never forgive myself'

'It's not your fault Sam' Bobby tried, but he too knew that Sam would not take that from him. 'I don't want to see you back down until I call you, so you'd better get some sleep.' He said, once he had lead Sam to the bed, switching the light off and closing the door behind him.

'Damn it John, cut the boy some slack' He growled when he got back into the kitchen. His friend glared at him, like he usually did when Bobby criticized his way of raising his children.

'He feels guilty already, doesn't need you adding to that' Bobby commented as he said down, fully intending it to be the last thing said about the matter.

'I can't have him out there, for all we know they're still after him too. I have to keep him safe'

'You should tell him that' Bobby suggested, he knew John had the tendency to drive his kids away from him in an attempt to keep them safe, and the fact he'd just sort of admitted to that surprised him more than anything, but he also knew the youngest Winchester wasn't anything like his older brother. Dean seemed to understand just what his father's intentions were, but Sam didn't get it at all, he needed to hear his father say he loved him every now and then.

John shrugged. 'Now, can we get back to figuring out where the bastard's keeping my son and grandson?'

***-*-*-*-***

The same guy that had managed to outsmart him back in the yard was now standing in the doorway. Dean considered charging at him and trying to escape, but as long as he didn't know where his son was he thought it better not to take any chances.

'Where's James?' He growled. Chloe's father, because Dean had instantly recognized him, smirked.

'Now that's for me to know and for you to…well…not know' He took a step in Dean's direction, leaving the door wide open. He obviously trusted Dean wouldn't try to escape. Dean, who was clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt to control his anger and stop him from doing something he would regret later.

'What the hell do you want?'

'Didn't I already tell you I want that brat of yours to pay for what he's done to my sweet girl.'

'What he has done? Take a look in the mirror would you? You are the one that beat her regularly' Dean snapped.

'Don't you talk about things you know nothing about boy' He had hit a sore sport with that comment.

'I don't need to know anything about it, Chloe told me what you did and that's all I need to know, there's no excuse to hit your children' So Dean was back to his first strategy, even if it didn't really work the last time he tried it, keeping the guy talking, hoping he'd get distracted enough to start making mistakes.

'You don't really wanna make me angry boy, you're not in the position to do so' Dean swallowed back a snappy comeback. If it had been just him, he would have, there were so many things he could say right now in true Winchester style, but he had to think of James.

'That's right boy. I'm in charge here' Chloe's father took another step in Dean's direction and pulled a syringe from his pocket. Dean's eyes widened at the sight, he did not like the idea of that syringe being plunged into his veins at all.

'You know I used to be a doctor right? That is, until that brat came along' Dean vaguely remembered Chloe telling him something about her father working at the hospital.

'And since he didn't have a father I had to look after him. So I was a great father and I did that for my beautiful daughter. And what did I get, did I ever get a thank you? No, all I got was an ungrateful brat that palmed my daughter in. She shut me out, he brainwashed her' Dean couldn't really believe this was the same guy he had met before James was born. The expected alcohol smell was absent and it made it even more unbelievable in Dean's eyes that this guy could think that a tree year old had actually brainwashed his mother.

'She disappeared without a trace one day, came back a day later, finally having gotten rid of that brat of hers' Dean wished he would stop calling James that.

'And I was happy at first, with him out of the way we would finally get back to the way things were. But no, she went and put the house on fire. I'm sure that brat had put her up to that'

'He's three years old for heaven's sake' Dean couldn't stop himself any longer, this was just getting ridiculous.

'As if that means anything. Now, do you know what this stuff can do to you? No? It's very addictive, I can tell you that much. So addictive they decided to take it off the market. But I have a cache right here.' He walked up to Dean, holding the syringe out. Dean's instincts took over and he backed down, until he was literally with his back against the wall. Chloe's father grabbed his arm and held it out, Dean tried to pull back, but he was much stronger than he looked. He began to realize what Chloe must have felt like all those years and once again he felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

'You'll be enjoying this very soon, just wait and see. Of course that sensation will only last for so long and then you will be craving more, but no matter how many times you'll take it, the sensation you felt that first time is never going to come back in the exact same way. You'll be wanting more and more, trying to get that feeling back, and I'm the only one that still has it. So there you have it, you'll depend on me. Great huh, now, are you ready?' Of course Dean wasn't ready, he fought even harder, but couldn't avoid the needle breaking his skin, and the stuff entering his veins.

He felt remarkably good for a little while, and everything became sort of a blur. He heard the door close again, signaling Chloe's father had left again, but he hadn't actually seen him go. He shivered a bit as he sank down to the floor. He was going to kill the guy just as soon as he had figured out where his son was.

***-*-*-*-***

'So we're back to square one' Bobby sighed.

'Yeah, expect that this time he has Dean and James and we have no time to sit on our behinds and chitchat' John grumbled, getting to his feet and shoving the papers that were scattered all over the kitchen table away.

'John' Bobby stated firmly, though he knew he should let the oldest Winchester blow off steam.

'What Bobby?!' John turned to face his friend, almost challenging him to go against him. This of course should have had the opposite effect, but it hadn't.

'John Winchester, calm the hell down right now. You have another son right here that you need to protect. You can't go off and run around like a beheaded chicken. If you don't know where you're going, you could be wasting even more valuable time, time that James and Dean perhaps don't have'

'Don't you think I know that?! And that's exactly why I can't sit around waiting for lord knows what to happen.'

'John, calm down' Bobby tried reasoning

'I won't calm down Bobby, and I refuse to sit here any longer. I am going out to find my son'

'Dad?' Sam chose that moment to walk into the kitchen.

'Get out of my way Sam' John walked right past Sam and out the front door, slamming it shut behind him.

'Don't worry Sam, he just needs to blow off some steam' Bobby whispered, putting his arm around the teen's shoulders and pulling him in for a hug. 'Now, what did I tell you about getting some rest?'

***-*-*-*-***

He woke up to a loud screaming. Dean opened his eyes, he had difficulty getting his thoughts in line because of the stuff that had been injected into his veins. He hoped the screaming wasn't real, that it was just some nightmare that had seemed so real. But when he heard the screaming again, he shot upright, this was definitely not a nightmare, and those terrifying screams came from his own son.

'JAMES' He yelled, knowing the boy probably couldn't hear him.

He screamed for his son at the top of his lungs, all the while banging on the door. He even clawed at is, as if he could claw his way through it, but everything was better than this helpless feeling. When the screaming died down, his yelling and banging grew even more frantic, ignoring his bodies signals to stop and succumb to darkness again. Until eventually his voice gave out and the banging on the door had turned into a pathetic knocking. He slid down the door and buried his head in his hands, tears were now flowing freely down his cheeks and for the first time since he witnessed his mother's dead he prayed. He prayed for his son to be alright and for his father and brother to get here quick.

***-*-*-*-***

**I know this chapter is a bit short and you deserved much more because of the long wait. Still, I hope it was worth it. I have to admit that the idea for this chapter came from a The Unit episode. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry it's taken me this long to update...again. I had it finished, but internet was being a major pain in the butt and I didn't have a connection for days. I had to do everything at work and it sucked, because I couldn't go on every website from there. Last night, I finally got a connection again, so here is the chapter. I'd like to thank everyone that has reviewed the last chapter, you are all amazing!**

**Oh and I was meant to say this in the last chapter. I do not have any kind of medical training, so the things I mention may not be entirely true, it only is in my imagination.**

***-*-*-*-***

John had gone into town. He needed to get out of the house, before he would say or do something to his youngest son that he was seriously going to regret. He knew what he was like, he tended to do things in his anger or concern that he hadn't quite…thought about, that he didn't mean. And he knew what his youngest was like, wearing his heart on his sleeve, he would take the words his father said to heart. And he'd rather prevent another head clash than deal with the consequences later.

He justified leaving the house by claiming he was going to ask around. And he was, perhaps he'd find something here, perhaps there was someone that had seen the guy, seen him hang around town, or better yet, saw him drive off with James and Dean.

He wasn't expecting to find anything, the guy had managed to outsmart three, no four, seasoned hunters. He had managed to overpower Dean and get him out of the yard without being seen by either him, Bobby or Sam and they had all been in the yard. He couldn't imagine Dean walking out of there under his own power, he just wasn't the type. So that meant Dean had probably been unconscious, and he was not exactly the lightest guy to carry around. Add to that the presence of a certain three year old boy and the disappearing act remained an absolute mystery to him.

'Excuse me ma'am' He stopped a woman on the street, flashing his fake police ID badge

'Can I ask you, have you noticed a strange guy hanging around, perhaps driving around with a teen and a young guy?' The woman looked at him questioning before shaking her head. John wished he could be more specific, but he had nothing to go on.

'Thanks for your time' He said before walking to the next person, this was going to be a long day.

***-*-*-*-***

He couldn't get his thoughts in line and it annoyed him to no extent. The adrenaline rush he had gotten from hearing his son scream had worn off and he was beginning to realize exactly how screwed they were. He couldn't even begin to think about an escape, let alone put a plan into motion. He had already begun to understand what exactly Chloe's father, Paul he thought he was called, meant when he said his body would start craving for the drug and he hated himself for it. He was feeling bad, and before he could help it he threw up what little bit he had left in his stomach. At that very moment he was happy that Paul kept him separated from his little boy, he wouldn't want his son to see him like this. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand Dean tried to swallow the vile taste away, which of course didn't work. If only he had never gotten out of bed that morning.

***-*-*-*-***

'Sam?' Bobby had been looking for the boy everywhere. After his father had stormed out, the younger brother had disappeared as well. Bobby thought it would be better if he found him, before his father did.

'Sam' Bobby glanced around the shed, he wouldn't even have spotted the miserable mop of brown hair sitting in the far corner of the shed, if it wasn't for the sniffing coming from the boy. Bobby sighed and made his way to Sam, crouched down beside him and put his arm around his shoulders.

'We will find them Sam' He reassured. He knew this was going to happen and he once again cursed John for doing this to his youngest son.

Come on Sam, let's get back to the house, despite anything yeh father might say, we need yeh research skills to get us somewhere. So stop sulking, put that ass in motion and make yaself useful' Sam looked up at the words, he seemed unsure of whether to smile or be offended but eventually a small smile appeared on his face. Without another word he got up and walked past Bobby into the kitchen and to Bobby´s computer. He loved researching at Bobby's. Their family usually didn't have access to a computer, they surely couldn't afford one. Of course more and more libraries were equipped with one, but they were usually old, and internet didn't work properly. And even if it did, he didn't like the probing librarians, and other occupants of the library. Researching at Bobby's was just more convenient.

Behind him he heard Bobby mumble something about the youth not really appreciating true research anymore and he smiled. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like for Bobby and his father to do research before they had access to modern communication as he had now. Imagine that, Sam appreciating something his father did, admiring him for it just like he had done several years ago, he thought wryly. A lot had changed since then and he certainly wouldn't let his father in on this particular fact anymore. But he had to focus now on finding his brother and nephew. Clicking on a link that had come up in his search he suddenly let out a loud 'Bobby, I think I've got something'

***-*-*-*-***

He was sure Paul had come in while he had been sleeping, and had left not so long ago, because he felt a familiar rush running through his veins. It made him feel good, and he forgot about his worries for a second, only to be shocked back into reality when the realization hit him that he and his son had been kidnapped and he had no idea where his kid currently was.

He tried to shake the numb feeling off, unsuccessful. He had to get his thoughts back in line, he had to find a way to escape, though he had no idea right now what would and would not work. He slapped his face, banged his fist on the floor a couple of times, hoping that perhaps the pain would put everything back in place, but nothing would work. He would really have to depend on his father, brother and adopted uncle to get them out of here and that didn't sit right with him. He hated having to depend on anyone for anything, especially when it was as important as this.

In the distance he heard a door open and close and he almost expected to hear his baby's wails again, which fortunately didn't come. Instead he heard the echoing of footsteps coming closer and closer and the heavy door to his cell, as he had come to think of it, opened.

'Good morning' Paul's cheery voice sounded through the tiny space. He sounded way too cheery for the circumstances, Dean thought, that couldn't mean anything good. 'Brought you breakfast' Paul went on, dropping a tray with some food on it before Dean's feet. Dean eyed it eagerly, he was hungry, even more than he was willing to admit to himself, but he didn't want to give the guy the satisfaction of showing it to him. He would wait until Paul had left him alone again.

'Not hungry? That's alright, you will be' Paul bend down and took the tray from right under Dean's nose, propping a piece of bread that had been lying on it, into his mouth and grinning widely at Dean, who closed his eyes momentarily. He couldn't stand the sight of the guy he despised so much eating when he himself was so hungry he would even go for the health crap Sam usually insisted on having.

'Ah well, too bad you don't have so much appetite at the moment. Perhaps your kid will eat more' Dean's eyes snapped open immediately at the mention of James.

'What the hell did you do to him?' He snapped, his anger winning it from all the other emotions that were currently fighting for priority.

'Oh don't you worry boy, he's in good hands with me'

'That's exactly what I'm worried about' Paul just let out a laugh that sounded evil to Dean. He didn't think he'd want to know what he could mean by that. Paul took a bottle of water and poured some in a bowl that he set down on the floor.

'You better drink that, you sort of need it to stay alive. See you later boy, if you're a little more hungry' Tugging the tray under his arm he turned back and went to close the door, his laughter intensifying when Dean's stomach chose that exact moment to let out a loud rumbling noise.

***-*-*-*-***

'Bobby, I think I've got something' It were the words Bobby had been waiting to hear for the past day and a half or so. Lord knows he cared for those Winchester boys as if they were his own and he too wouldn't rest until they had found Dean and little James.

'What ya find?' He asked, standing behind the boy's chair within seconds to look over his shoulder.

'I think I know where he's keeping them' Sam went on to explain how he figured the guy couldn't be too far, with both Dean and James to handle and that he probably kept them somewhere secluded, his best guess a warehouse. So when he searched for Paul Reynolds, he had found some of the printouts Dean had made back when he went in search of Chloe so knew how her father was called, in combination with warehouses, he had stumbled upon a very interesting article. It turned out that he was the stakeholder of a company dealing in real estate, including several warehouses in this area. His name was mentioned in a fraud case, right about the time James was born. He claimed not to know anything, and because he had always been a respectable doctor in the hospital he worked at they hadn't looked any further. The company though was ruined an had to sell most of their properties, but they remained in the possession of two warehouses, both located within 20 miles of the yard.

'I'd say they're at either one of those warehouses. My best guess would be this one' Sam said, pointing the location out at the map he had spread on the table as he was talking.

Bobby rubbed a hand over his face as Sam finished his explanation. It seemed all a bit too much coincidence and he was afraid that they were so willing to believe that this was where they were going to find Dean and James, that they would get disappointed and ended up having wasted a lot of precious time that they didn't have. Yet this was a possibility, if anything. And it wasn't like they had anything else to go on.

Sam was sat beaming at the kitchen table, happy with what he found. If it turned out that he had been right and that it was because of the information he had provided they'd find Dean and James, that would go a long way for his self esteem. Just for that Bobby would be willing to go on a wild goose chase, if it wasn't for the nagging feeling that every minute wasted would be a minute Dean and James could be suffering some more. So before taking any rash decisions he praised the boy, encouraged him to dig a bit further, see if he could come up with different explanations as well, just to be sure. He decided to give it an hour or so before he would call John to have him come back so they could come up with a strategy.

'Try some more general searches as well Sam, we don't know for sure whether it's Paul Reynolds who's behind all this, it could still be someone else. In the meantime I'm going to make some calls, see if I can find out which of those two locations is the more likely one. I do agree with ya that that one's more secluded, but I would hate to go busting in, guns blazing an all to find we're in the wrong warehouse. I have a friend who works at the police station, perhaps she could tell us if there have been any reports of strange activity at either place.'

'A friend at the police station?' Sam asked with raised eyebrows, he figured Bobby hated the authorities as much as his father did, he had always assumed that came with being a hunter.

'Yeah boy. I ain't like yeh daddy, nothing wrong with having connection, ya never know what ya can use it for. Yeh daddy drives people away, always puts suspicion on him. I'm not too big a fan of authorities, thank ya very much, but sometimes it comes in handy to know these people' Bobby immediately defended. Sam snickered, Bobby was right about his father. He was so afraid that they were going to take his children away from him, or that was what Sam liked to tell himself he hadn't yet convinced himself that was actually the case, that he would get so paranoid which actually made people all the more suspicious of them.

***-*-*-*-***

Bobby hung up the phone, he had nothing. There hadn't been any reports on any kind of activity at all. As far as the police knew both places were completely abandoned, had been for years. His friend did promise to notify him if anything came up, but Bobby hadn't told her that would be a waste of time, as they weren't planning on waiting around for that.

Judging by the way Sam was getting more and more jittery told him he wasn't doing any better and was aching to get to the warehouse to see if his theory was correct. He was about to pick up the phone again and call John when they heard the familiar rumble of the Impala's engine, announcing John's arrival. Moments later the door opened and John poked his head around the doorframe

'Bobby I think I've got something'


	14. Chapter 14

**It's just embarrassing how long it took me to get this chapter written. Real life has been a major pain in the butt. If you're still reading this, then thank you so much for sticking with me. You guys make it worth continuing this story, even if sometimes it seems like it doesn't want to be continued. I hope this was worth the wait, even if it's a little short**

'What ya got?' Bobby queried, getting up to pour John some coffee.

'I didn't think I was going to be lucky, but someone actually remembers having seen a strange guy hanging round somewhere around…here' He added, having walked up to the kitchen table where the map was still spread out and pointing at it.

Sam bend over the map to inspect the area his father had pointed at. Noticing it wasn't anywhere around the warehouse he'd been convinced his brother and nephew were being held he looked at Bobby, silently begging him to explain it to his father. It wasn't that he was afraid of his father, never had been, but he knew for sure his father wouldn't listen to him. Now if Bobby told him they had to go look at the other side of town, John would at least consider it.

'Isn't that around the other warehouse Sam?' Bobby asked the younger Winchester

'Warehouse?' John rose his eyebrows, he wasn't aware of the existence of any warehouses, or well, not that held any significance to the case. He shuddered at the word, he didn't like to consider his son and grandson a case.

'We didn't exactly sit still either. Sam found this guy owns two warehouses, both located within twenty minutes from the yard. We thought it most likely if he'd taken them to either one of them. We were thinking this one' Bobby pointed at the other side of the map.

'Well then you're thinking wrong' John barked, turning to gather some weapons. 'We're going to go to the one where he was spotted. You coming?'

'But dad…' Sam couldn't help but interfere, his guts told him they were going to the wrong warehouse, he couldn't quite explain where it was coming from, but somehow he knew where his big brother was being held.

'Sam, you can either grab your gear and come with me to get your brother and nephew, or you can stay here and let me handle this on my own. Either way I'm going now.' John said, not giving Sam any time to explain himself.

Bobby witnessed the exchange between father and son, not sure whether he should intervene. He had hoped that John would come of his high horse at Sammy's pleading, that he would have stopped to consider that the bond his sons shared was something special and that either one always seemed to know where the other one was. But John did none of that, instead he was moving to go out there alone.

Sam turned to Bobby with such a defeated look on his face that his heart broke for the younger Winchester.

'John, hear him out' The least he could do was try, right?

'No Bobby, we are running out of time so I won't hear him out. For all I care you can stay here with him if you don't agree with me, but I'm not standing around any longer discussing matters when my son and grandson are out there and need me.' And with that John stormed out of the house, slamming the door shut behind him. Sam jumped up immediately, gathered his favorite hunting knife that, if Bobby wasn't mistaken, belonged to Dean once, and ran after his father. Bobby let out a big sigh, these Winchesters sure were going to be the end of him one day.

**-byt-**

'Daddy?' A soft voice called out, Dean opened his eyes and looked around the room he was being held in. Something had woken him up, but he wasn't sure what it was, until he heard it again.

'Daddy?' And there he was, somewhere to the right of him, sitting on his knees in the corner of the room, just out of reach. Dean took a moment to look his son over. Tear tracks were staining his cheeks, his eyes were the size of golf balls and he looked dirty. Other than that the toddler seemed fine, no obvious injuries.

'James…?' He wanted to believe it was his son so badly, but he wasn't sure whether he could trust his eyes at this moment. He could tell from the way he was feeling the drug, whatever that might be, was still in his system. For all he knew it could cause hallucinations and he was just imagining his son being with him.

'Are you okay buddy?' He asked, subconsciously lowering his voice. James' nod was barely noticeable but it was a nod none the less.

'You hurting somewhere buddy?' He swore he was going to kill the guy if another nod would follow and when it did he had to close his eyes for a moment and take a few deep breaths to clear his mind before he spoke again. He wasn't going to let James think it was something he had done that could've angered his father.

'Where you hurting buddy, can you tell daddy?' James shook his head this time, but pointed to his back. The fact that James wasn't speaking bothered Dean. As he had heard the boy calling out for him, he knew there was nothing wrong with his voice, so it had to be something like shock causing his silence. Once again anger threatened to overtake him, but he had to keep it together for his son.

'Can you let daddy have a look at it?' James seemed to think about that question for a moment, before putting his hands down and slowly crawling to his father as if he'd never learned to walk. Dean held his arms out encouragingly and pulled the boy close as soon as he came within reach. Without hesitation Dean pulled the shirt up a little, wincing when James flinched. It was going to be a long time before any of this would be right again, if ever. Dean closed his eyes again and swallowed back the tears as he saw the state of his three year old's back. It was one big mass of bruises that were even painful to see, he couldn't begin to imagine what they felt like.

'You hurt anywhere else?' Dean managed around the lump in his throat. James shook his head and Dean released a sigh of relief. At least it didn't get any worse than this. He pulled his son close, who buried his head in his chest and started quietly sobbing. Dean let some of his own tears stream down his face as well, draping his arm around James' shoulders, being mindful of all the bruises.

He didn't care if it was just a hallucination. As long as his son was safely with him, wrapped in his arms it didn't matter if it would all be gone in the morning, it felt right for the moment and that brought a spark of hope.

**-byt-**

They had gone in, guns blazing, only to find the warehouse was empty. Sam could have said something like I told you so, but it didn't seem right. He couldn't bring himself even to be angry with his father when he found him, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and his head in his hands crying softly. Sam considered his options, either he was going to walk away and let his father deal with his emotions, something he was definitely not going to do if he knew Sam or Bobby was watching him, or get him to snap out of it so they could move on and get his brother and nephew to safety. It was Bobby who made that decision for him.

'Damn it Johnny, get ya act together. Dean and James are still out there.' John's head snapped up as his friend spoke

'Don't you think I know that Bobby. And we might already be too late. I'm a lousy father, what the hell would Mary think about all I'm doing to my children?'

'Johnny, this is not the moment to start wallowing in self pity' When John made no move to get up Bobby sighed again, loud enough for John and Sam to hear.

'John Winchester, get the hell up and get ya ass into gear, right now' He spoke, channeling his father, being the most authoritative person he could think of, as best as he could. That worked, because as soon as the words left his mouth John jumped into position. His army days had done that to him. He mumbled something that sounded like you're right as walked out of the warehouse and to the awaiting Impala. Sam and Bobby exchanged worried glances, but neither one of them said anything as they followed behind him.

Sam got into the passenger seat of the Impala. He would've much preferred Bobby's truck, just to escape the tension, but he knew how his father felt about that, so he didn't. Instead he sat, staring out the window, while the ride passed in silence. Both father and son were lost in thought, both thinking about how they'd screwed up and how they'd wasted valuable time. John felt guilty for not listening to his son and friend, Sam felt just as guilty for not convincing his father he was wrong, for not standing up to him, like he had done many times before. His brother always seemed to get caught in the middle and he hated that, but just when said brother needed him to pick a fight with his father, he had given in without too much protest. And to add to his worries he couldn't help but shake the feeling something was seriously wrong with his brother.

**-byt-**

Dean felt remarkably well, the "head filled with cotton balls" feeling had died down again, and he wondered whether it was because of the drug or the lack of it. He had expected that James would've disappeared along with the feeling, but he was still lying with his head cradled in his father's lap. Now that he had his son with him, Dean could worry about other things, about getting out and what would happen after they had managed to escape. He had thought about the drug addiction and how he would have to deal with that, but he had banned the idea from his mind as soon as it appeared. First things first, if they didn't get out of here, wherever here was, he wouldn't even have to kick it.

He shook his head, as if that would make his thoughts fall back in place. He hated that he couldn't even remember how long they had been here, it could've been just a day, could've been a week or much longer than that. Would his father and Sammy come and find him. Had they been gone long enough to start giving up hope of ever being rescued? As soon as that thought entered his brain he pushed it out again. Of course his father and Sam weren't going to give up on him, but he too knew that the longer it took, the slimmer the chance of them ever finding him and James. If only he knew where they were being held, so he could at least orientate himself.

His thoughts were disturbed when he felt James shift, obviously waking up.

'Hey buddy?' Dean questioned, still not sure whether he should really believe he had his little boy here with him, relatively unscathed or whether it was some sort of hallucination his mind had cooked up due to the drugs he was on. James seemed didn't seem to believe it either as he was looking his father over, a small smile creeping on his face as Dean carded his fingers through the boy's hair and stroked the thumb of his other hand over his cheek.

'You okay?' He didn't really expect to receive an answer, but he had at least hoped James would start speaking again. As it turned out that was something he himself had passed down. His father once told him that when his mother died he had stopped speaking as well. Even now he was older he found that it could be a coping mechanism, like if he kept quiet than he could deal with whatever was going on in his head better.

'Don't worry buddy, daddy's going to keep you safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you buddy, I promise'

'You sure about that?' Paul´s dark voice sounded, Dean hadn´t even heard the guy approaching, he was definitely losing his touch. He sighed and lifted James from his lap and pushed him behind him. Whatever Paul had planned to do to his son, he was going to have to go through him to do it. The thought didn´t last very long, because before he had a chance to do anything about it, a bat swung his way and everything went black.

**And there you have it, I promise it won't be another three weeks before I write the next part. **


	15. Chapter 15

***peeks her head out from her hiding place* I'm so embarrassed it took me as long as it did to get this written. But let me tell you, this one has been rewritten about three times and still it's not the way I want it to be. That combined with my exams next week, me buying a house and going from specialist to specialist with a knee injury, are my excuse for taking this long. Thanks to everybody who made sure I didn't forget about this story. Hope you enjoy, even if it's short.**

'Are we really sure about this?' Sam asked as he closed the Impala door behind him. The second warehouse looked just as abandoned as the first one had, and he was beginning to seriously doubt they were at the right place.

John ignored his question 'Bobby, you go round back, Sam you stay with me, and stay close ya hear me?' Sam nodded silently and fell in line behind his father, whilst Bobby disappeared around the corner. They waited a couple of seconds to give him the time to reach the back door, or find another way into the building if there wasn't one, before John threw the door open.

Even on the inside, it didn't look any different from the first warehouse: empty apart from a few cardboard boxes strewn across the place, some plastic wrappers and a very big layer of dust. Sam sneezed, with his sleeve nearly in his nose in an attempt to muffle to noise. His father turned around and pressed his finger to his lips. Sam shrugged apologetically, he couldn't help it, the dust had gotten in his nose.

It didn't feel like there was anyone or anything in the building, apart from a few rats and other creatures Sam would rather not encounter in his bedroom. He was quite sure that if Dean, James and this guy were here, or had been here, there should have been some sort of sign. Footsteps or, heaven forbid, drag marks, in the dust, and it probably wouldn't be as quiet. The silence scared him. 'I don't know dad, it's too quiet' Sam said, but the words hadn't left his mouth or they heard a thumb, followed by footsteps coming in their direction.

Both Sam and John rose their weapons and aimed them in the direction the sound had come from.

'Hold yer horses, it's only me' Came Bobby's familiar voice from around the country. With a sigh of relief John lowered his gun and nodded in Sam's direction to do the same.

'Nothing?' John asked, though he was well aware of the answer, Bobby's slight shake of the head confirmed his suspicions.

'Damn it!' He let out as he kicked against some trash that got left behind when the warehouse was vacated, probably years ago. They were back to square one and he had been so sure they were on the right path. He would never admit it to either of his sons, but he was scared for them. The thought that someone had his oldest boy, and his grandson and there was nothing he could do, because this guy kept outsmarting him, didn't sit right with him. He'd be damned if someone touched either of his boys and got away with it.

He was about to turn on his heels, back out of the warehouse and begin the search all over again, when Sam pushed past him and took off running.

'SAM!' He yelled after his youngest son, who didn't even turn his head as he kept running. 'SAM, damn it, come back!'

He stood for a few seconds more, as if frozen to the ground, watching as Sam got further and further away from them, until Bobby started pulling on his elbow.

'What the hell ya waiting for? We hafta go after him, he cannot be out there on his own. ' It took a while before Bobby's words registered, and John realized he was right. And by then Sam was too far away for them to really stand a chance of catching up with him. Which, of course, didn't stop them from chasing after him, until he had disappeared from sight, somewhere in the maze of empty warehouses and closed factories.

It was Bobby who stopped moving first, after a few minutes of running around aimlessly, rounding corners, hoping to catch sight of John's youngest son, but finding empty streets every way they turned. Bobby rested his hands on his knees as he stood slightly bend over, trying to catch his breath.

'Damn idiot' He breathed. John moved to stand beside his friend. He too needed a minute to get his heartbeat back to a much more natural pace.

'I'm getting too old for this' Bobby commented, stretching his back as he stood up again.

'Where the hell could he have gone?' John questioned, looking at the older hunter who simply shrugged.

'Dunno, but tell ya one thing. That boy's as pigheaded as his old man.'

'Damn Sammy, where the hell are you?' John muttered, raising his eyes up to heaven and sending a silent prayer to whoever could be listening.

***BYT***

Sam didn't know what had gotten over him. One minute he was standing right next to his father in the warehouse, listening to his yelling and waiting for him to turn his anger to his youngest son, and the next he was moving. He didn't really realize he was running away from the warehouse until he heard his father call his name, but he didn't turn around, didn't even slow down.

So now he had been running for what felt like hours, and his lungs were seriously beginning to burn and he could feel acid creeping along his calves. It wouldn't be long now before they would start to cramp up and when that would happen there was no telling how long it would take him to reach his destination. Which, he'd had to admit if he was really being honest, he still didn't know where it was. He figured he would know once he got there. There was something inside him making him move forward, around corners, further and further away. He couldn't explain it, but for now he was happy to let his legs guide the way. Who knew where it could lead.

***BYT***

He was sort of expecting his family to make a dramatic entrance right about now. Like jump in through the windows, guns blazing, and with just about enough noise to alert the entire city where they were and what was going on. Of course, stuff like that only happened on tv, which explained why it was perfectly quiet when Dean first regained consciousness.

He groaned as he lifted his hand to his head. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to it, though he supposed a baseball bat could do about the same damage. As he gained awareness it suddenly dawned on him that there was supposed to be another person with him. He attempted to open his eyes, the groan growing louder as he did.

'James?' He decided to try first. He sighed when he didn't receive an answer, guess he really did have to open his eyes.

He managed on the third attempt to open his eyes to slits and keep them that way without his head exploding. The room was dark again, so there really wasn't much to see. He was about to get up and feel his way around the room to make sure James was, or wasn't, in the room with him, when he heard a soft sniffling coming from the corner furthest away from him.

'James?' he tried again, but the kid still wasn't speaking. Dean moved to his hands and knees and carefully crawled towards the sound. Sure enough he was soon faced with his son, who had his knees drawn up to his chest, face buried in his arms which were pulling his knees to his body, trying to make himself as small as possible. Tears instantly formed in his eyes as he saw his little boy, being so vulnerable, so scared. He hated to think what could have happened while he was out for the count. He swallowed back the lump in his throat and angrily wiped his eyes to stop the tears from falling. He couldn't let James see the tears, he needed his father to be strong for him. He couldn't let Paul see them either, he wouldn't give him the pleasure. Sliding down the wall to sit beside his son, Dean pulled him close, wrapping his arms around the tiny shoulders, his fingers tracing lines on his back, soothing the boy without saying a word. It wasn't even a minute before the hiccupped breaths slowed down and his breathing evened out. James was out for the count, Dean would worry about what happened later.

***BYT***

Finally Sam stopped moving. He had no clue where he was, and how to get back. But none of that mattered really, because he had a feeling he was close to Dean, could practically feel his older brother's presence right here. Wherever here was. He had definitely left the city now. There wasn't a soul in the area, no decent buildings except for some sheds. He quietly made his way over to the one closest to him. If he could have a peek inside, he could at least explain to himself what he was doing here and if he'd been right about his brother being here.

When he stood on the tip of his toes he could just about reach the windowsill, which he could then use to pull himself up so he could look through the window. That seemed like a good idea, until he placed his full weight on his good arm and a loud creak told him the rotting wood wasn't agreeing with his plans here. He didn't even have the chance to lower himself back to the ground before the wood under his fingers crumbled and he fell, feet scrambling for purchase against the wall before ending up in a heap on the floor. Instinctively he had put his hands behind him, trying to break his fall, but when he landed on his still casted hand he wished he hadn't. He let out a scream he was sure was loud enough to alert anyone in a ten mile radius of his presence. So far the element of surprise being on his side. He cradled his injured arm to his chest and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Sam half expected an entire army surrounding him when he opened his eyes again, but the area was just as deserted as it had been minutes earlier. Pulling himself back to his feet he looked around to see if there was any other way he could get a look inside the shed. Sure enough there were some tree trunks lying around he could use to stand on, and he once again wished he had thought of that earlier when his casted hand hung uselessly by his side, as he used his other arm to drag the trunk he decided was big enough to enable him to see through the window, towards the building. Once that was in place he put his right foot on the trunk, testing to see if it could hold his weight, not eager to get a repeat performance of the earlier happenings. He didn't hear any sounds he didn't like and the wood didn't give way under his feet, so he gave it a go.

It was dark in the shed, only a little light coming from under the door, and through the windows. Though one glance was enough to confirm that this shed was used to store the gardening supplies. He wouldn't find anything of use in there.

Sam repeated the process for all of the other sheds, 4 in total. One of them housed quite a large collection of tools, which Sam had stored away for future reference. The other sheds were just as useless as the first one. It wasn't until he walked around the last shed on the property he spotted the house, hidden behind a few large trees. The weeds had overgrown it, and the state of the building told him no one had been living here for a long time. His heart skipped a beat as he saw it. Something told him he had found Dean and James.

**hmm...**


	16. Chapter 16

**Holland made it to the quarter finals! Surely Brazil is going to kick us out now...**

He was beginning to miss the drugs in his system. He had started to sweat and his hands were shaking, tingling too. Dean knew all this came with withdrawal, but he had never expected it to set in this quickly. It hadn't been that long since his last shot, had it?

Of course he kick us out would never say it out loud, but he was sort of hoping for Paul to come back with that needle and plant it in his vein. Though his common sense told him he really shouldn't want that. Beside him James whimpered. Dean shifted his weight and pulled his son on his lap, forcing the thought about the drugs from his mind as he started humming a song he remembered from back when his mother was still alive. He had absolutely no idea which song it was, if it even was a real song or something his mother had made up, but he knew it had always made him feel safe, something he wouldn't mind feeling right now.

When he heard some noise coming from outside the door he fell quiet, listening intently if he could somehow figure out what was going on on the other side of their prison door. Then all of a sudden someone was calling his name, and he would know that voice anywhere: his little brother was in the building.

-**byt-**

Sam crept through the building, gun held in his hand awkwardly. Normally his dad would have them carry it with two hands, like you'd see the cops do on tv. But with his casted hand still cradled to his chest and it having no more use than that, he had to hold it with just his good hand. Of course there had been plenty of times his dad had made them practice that too, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Sam's first impression of the house didn't seem right. Sure, the building and its furniture hadn't had an update in many, many years, but the layer of dust showed trails of footsteps, all over the place. Someone definitely had been here, though hadn't bothered to clean the floors, or the furniture for that matter. All it did was strengthen his feeling that Dean and James were being kept here. If only he could tell where exactly.

Listening out for any sound indicating someone other than him was in the building, but finding none he decided it would be safe to call out for his brother.

'Dean' He whispered hoarsely, the dust getting to him. He coughed a little trying to get rid of it, without alerting anyone of his whereabouts and tried again, a little louder this time.

Moving through the house, calling his brother's name every now and then, Sam continued his search. The stairs creaked and he stopped after every step to listen if anyone had noticed, but it remained just as quiet as it had been when he entered the house. It seemed almost too quiet and that made Sam nervous. Something wasn't right, but he figured he would find out soon enough what it was. Once he reached the top of the stairs he had another good look around. He now stood at the beginning of a long hallway that had several doors leading to it. There was a window at the far end which provided just enough light to tell him where he was going, but no more than that. It all added to the creepy feeling he was getting. It seemed like this place had been taken straight from a horror movie, and a bad one at that. The only thing that was missing were the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, though he assumed that if there had been more light, he would've detected some of them as well.

Sam never received a reply to his calls, but somehow he didn't expect one. Which is why he was surprised when one of his 'Deans' was met with a clear banging on one of the doors. Now it was just a matter of figuring out where the banging was coming from and who was doing the banging. 'Dean?' He tried again, a little louder again. When his calling was once again answered with a bang he knew for sure he hadn't imagined things. And when he stood perfectly still, just listening for a few seconds he was sure he could hear someone calling his name. Though he couldn't be sure it wasn't just him wanting to hear his brother call his name instead of the real deal.

Stopping in front of the door he was sure would lead to the room his brother, and hopefully his nephew as well, was being held, Sam gave it a light tap. Seconds later the second part of their secret tap echoed through the empty hallway. Sam sunk down to the floor, leaning his head against the door as a silent tear found its way down his cheek in relief. He really did find his older brother.

**-byt-**

John sat, holding his head in his hands, going through everything that had happened the past few days. He was so sure they were right, that they had found where Dean and James were being held. He had never failed before, and he couldn't afford to fail now that the life of his oldest son and grandson were on the line. So really, there was no reason for him to think they could be in the wrong place entirely. And all that confidence got him, was his other son missing as well. Not only were they back to square one, they now had Sam's disappearance to worry about too.

He was angry with the boy for just taking off and putting him and Bobby in their current situation, he was proud of him too for following his instincts but most of all he was scared, scared bad things were happening to his three boys and he wasn't there to prevent them from happening. For all that he had done, now a good fifteen years; training his boys to be the best soldiers they could possibly be at their age, telling them to always have each other's back and teaching them all he knew about the things that go bump in the night, now that they needed him he couldn't protect him.

And as all those emotions fought to be let first he let the tears flow freely, something he hadn't done since the day after that faithful night so many years ago that took his wife from him and the boys.

**-byt-**

Bobby stood in the doorway, silently observing his friend, seeing the emotions cross his features one by one. He had to admit he was surprised at the tears and the sobbing. He had known John since Sam had only been a baby of about ten months old and Dean was a quiet little boy, having only just turned five years old but who seemed so much older than that, with eyes that were sad all the time by what they had seen. And now that little boy had a little boy of his own, but in all those years Bobby had never seen John break down. And there surely had been times he had every right too. He suspected John only cried in private, not wanting his reputation of tough guy to be ruined. Or he hoped he did, it wasn't healthy to keep all those things bottled up inside.

Bobby knew that they had no time to lose, that they should be back to their research, trying to find out more about where Dean and James could be held. Those two at least could be found through research. Paul had taken them somewhere and there just had to be some sort of clue as to where that somewhere was, Sam on the other hand was a whole different story. That boy could be anywhere right about now. Though Bobby couldn't really bring himself to get John focused again. Deciding to leave him alone a little longer, Bobby turned on his heels and went back to the kitchen where his phone hung. He was going to do another round of his contacts, maybe one of them had come up with something.

**-byt-**

Dean had sobered up at the sound of his brother being this close immediately. At first he was just thrilled that his brother had come for him and his son. Then he realized that if Paul was out there as well, Sammy could have a problem. He had waited for a while, hoping to hear his father's or Bobby's voice, but when he heard nothing he understood that his little brother was probably alone. Though how that could've happened he didn't know. He was gonna need to have a word with his father about that.

He decided to answer with a bang on the door, he was sure that that would attract Sam's attention where he didn't really trust his voice enough to call out for him loud enough to be heard. It took a few seconds, but then Sam's voice came again, louder this time and Dean banged again, now saying his brother's name out loud as well. He couldn't hear anything else, no second set of footsteps, no other voice, nothing that indicated anyone else was present. Which meant that Sam was probably safe.

For a second his fear flared up however, when his part of the secret tap, and why was it such a lame one again, was followed by a soft thud. 'Sammy?' He whispered with his lips close enough to the wood to touch it. Dean hated not being able to see what was going on on his brother's side of the door, not being able to reach out for him and pull him into a hug. Especially when he heard a soft sniff coming from his little brother.

'It's okay Sammy, you made it here. We are here and we are safe. Now can you open the door. Do you have your lock picks with you?' He tried coaching the fifteen year old, he needed Sam to be strong now, for just a little longer. Then once he had gotten him and James out of their prison big brother would take charge again.

Dean looked beside him at the little three year old boy who was still sleeping, he hadn't even stirred despite all the commotion and that scared Dean a little. Though he didn't really have the time to worry about that right now, first he needed to get Sam back on track.

'Sammy?' He tried again and smile when the unmistakable sound of the lock being picked told him Sam indeed carried the lock picks with him, when didn't he, and he was with it enough to try and open the door.

**-byt-**

Sam was pulled from his little break down by his brother talking to him quietly. Telling him what to do. Sam took a deep breath and reached in the pocket of his jeans, where he knew his lock picks to be. He send a prayer up thanking the lord that they were where they were supposed to be. However when he put the pick in the lock and wriggled it around in an attempt to open the door that thankfulness was soon forgotten. He cursed his casted hand once again, which was now throbbing mercilessly. He needed two hands to keep the pick steady so he tried to ignore the pain, biting his tongue to keep from crying out. He had all the time in the world to open the door and it all was a little too easy for his liking. It only made him want to get to his brother and nephew and get them out of the room sooner; the sooner they'd be out of here, the sooner he could breath freely again.

While he was fumbling with the lock, and it took him much longer than it normally would, Dean kept talking to him, kept him calm and focused and eventually he heard the click he had been going for.

Breathing a sigh of relief he pushed the door open, half expecting someone to jump out at him, but instead finding his brother on the other side of the door, looking at him intently. James was lying asleep next to him.

Both of them looked tired, dirty and sweaty, but for as far as he could see they were both alright. 'Dean' Sam whispered as his older brother opened his arms and Sam eagerly fell in them, taking in the warmth and comfort from the twenty year old.

'It's okay Sammy. It's all going to be okay' Dean chanted over and over again, stroking Sam's back soothingly. It really was his younger brother, only now that he was holding him in his arms and taking in his scent he believed it was his brother in the flesh and not something his imagination, stimulated by the drugs, had cooked up. Sam had found them and now they were getting out of there.

**A little cheesy, I know, I just had one of those moods...**


	17. Chapter 17

**It seems everything and everyone is dead set against me updating it. First it takes me ages to get the chapter written, then once it is finished the site won't let me log in, so I can't even put it up. Now that problem's solved, here's the next chapter. It's really short, but I thought better short than nothing, right?**

'Sammy, where's dad, and Bobby?'He asked, though he was more than happy to hold his little brother in his arms Dean knew they had to get a move on. It seemed Paul was, well somewhere else and it would be a matter of time before he'd come back. Sam pulled back and looked at him with his big hazel orbs, Dean wasn't sure he liked that expression. And then the shrug followed

'I don't know' Sam whispered.

'What do you mean, you don't know where they are?' He hadn't wanted to raise his voice, but this came as a surprise. Sure he realized Sam had to be alone, but he had hoped, and honestly thought his father and Bobby would be right behind him.

'I just…don't' Sam replied, face down. Something had happened and Sam was ashamed of it.

'They don't know where we are, do they?' When Sam shook his head, all hope that they were going to get rescued disappeared, and at the same time he manned up, he was going to have to get the two youngest out of there.

'Okay, no problem. We just have to get a move on now' Dean scrambled to his feet and shook his head a few times until the floor stopped moving.

'Sam, can you…' With his chin he motioned to his still sleeping son. He didn't think he could bend down to get him and still get back up. Without seeing if Sam complied he stuck his head out of the door to see if the coast was clear. Finding the hallway empty he started moving.

'Come on Sam, let's get the hell out of here' He looked back to make sure his brother was behind him, with James in his arms. He could smack himself for his head when he saw how awkwardly Sam was holding the little boy, he had forgotten all about the broken arm.

'You okay?' He moved to take James from him, but Sam stopped him. Of course, he should have known.

'Sam' He tried channeling his inner John, but Sam just shook his head and shoved the gun he was holding with his casted hand in his. He could've started a discussion and force his brother to hand his son to him, but he figured this wasn't the time or place to do that, besides if they didn't get moving soon, there'd be no point in even trying to get out. So instead Dean shook his head and crept through the door and in the hallway, keeping his ears open for any sign Paul had returned. Dean wondered where he could be, why he would leave them alone, unguarded. A little voice in the back of his mind told him it was a trap, and they were walking right in it.

**-BYT-**

His instinct didn't betray him, though he hoped it would, because once they reached the end of the hallway he got pulled through the door, knocking the gun from his hands as he fell on the floor. If anyone would ever ask him about it he would argue it was the drugs weakening his system that meant he didn't see this coming. Though years of training quickly caught up with his fuzzy brain and he managed to get a fist in his attacker's face. Whoever it was, was distracted for a few seconds, long enough for Dean to get his bearings and take in the situation he was in.

The door to the hallway he had just come from was still opened, though Sam and James where nowhere in sight. That probably meant Sam was hiding somewhere, if Paul, one glance in his direction had proven it was him again, didn't know Sam was there at all that would give them a surprise factor.

'You didn't think I'd let you march right out of here, did you?' Paul asked, pointing the gun Dean had just dropped in his face. Dean smiled sheepishly at him.

'Aw, you did. News flash, I got plans for you. You ruined my life, and my little girl. You and that little brat of yours. See, first I thought I'd kill him. Then I thought it would be much more fun if you could experience everything I've been through. My little girl was taken from me, so I had to take your boy from you. After all, you are the one that created that monster.' So they were back to the crazy talk.

'Figured I'd play a little with him, you know, have a little fun, before ending it. I was going to wait a day or two. Of course, with your little…great escape, shall we call it? Well I guess we'll just have to do it right now.' All of a sudden Paul changed the direction of the gun, pointing it right at the door and firing before Dean could even think about doing something.

For a second the world stopped moving, Dean's eyes widened and he was waiting for a scream from either Sam or James. The last thing he was expecting happened, out of nowhere Sam came rushing towards Paul and the gun. It seemed that Dean wasn't the only one who wasn't expecting Sam, because Paul's eyes, as he went down, were widened in surprise. He hadn't known Sammy was there. How that was possible they would never know, but it worked in their advantage.

Dean watched as his little brother rolled over the man, a look of pain crossing his face when he came down on his already broken arm.

Dean took full advantage of Paul's surprise, jumping on top of him and punching him in the face until he stopped moving. He knew he hadn't killed him, just knocked him out cold. It would be a while before he'd regain conscious and would have one hell of a headache once he did.

It didn't seem enough, but it would have to do for now. Getting off Paul, Dean offered Sam his hand and pulled him up.

'You okay Sammy?' Sam silently nodded.

'We'll have that hand of yours looked at just as soon as we get out of this place. I think you might need a new cast' Another nod from Sam. 'Where's James' With his chin Sam motioned towards the door opening where James was standing, thumb in his mouth, rubbing his eyes with the other hand.

'Hey boy, come on. Daddy's going to get you out of here' Dean said as he scooped James up in his arms and carried him out of the door, Sam following close behind him. He would have to get his father and Bobby to finish the job for him.

**-BYT-**

'Dean, you're sweating' Sam pointed out as they were walking through the abandoned streets. He had quietly observed his older brother and had drawn the conclusion that something wasn't right. For one Dean never perspired this much, not even if it was bloody warm outside, and the goose bumps on his own arms proved there wasn't a reason whatsoever for Dean to sweat the way he did. Other than that Dean seemed to be swaying on his feet, the same way their father did when he was drunk. Sam had never seen Dean drunk yet, not really, but he expected he wouldn't be much different from their father.

'Dean?' Sam asked again when he got no reaction. Dean looked at him, his pupils were wide and just as he was about to comment on it, Dean slapped his hand in front of his mouth and moved to the side of the road, having just enough time to put James down before the entire contents of his stomach made a second appearance. There wasn't much in his stomach which meant he was dry heaving pretty quickly. Sam stood behind him, rubbing his back in the same way Dean always did when he was sick.

'What's going on Dean?' Sam asked when Dean settled a little. Dean shrugged his shoulders. 'Did he give you something Dean, did he give you drugs?' Sam questioned. In school they had told them all about drug addiction. They had told the students about the withdrawal symptoms, how unpleasant they were, showed them some horrible scenes of people going through them in an attempt to scare them off. In Sam's case that worked, he didn't want to go through that ever. Of course he had memorized that, and he thought he recognized it in his brother.

Dean's nod was only barely noticeable. Sam copied the nod, getting up and pulling Dean with him.

'That's okay, we'll get you back to your usual, annoying self' He said and grinned as he slapped his older brother on his back , promising himself he would reverse the roles this once, he was going to take care of his older brother for a change.

**Sort of an abrupt ending, I know. It just felt good to end it here instead of dragging it on. **


	18. Chapter 18

**It's been so long since the last chapter and so much has happened in the meantime both in real life and with the story. I wrote, deleted and rewrote this chapter at least 5 times, which didn't make it better. This is the very last chapter to the story. It has come from my toes, and the ending is slightly rushed, but I wanted to get it over with now. I hope you'll enjoy, let me know!**

They had been over their notes over and over again, and Bobby was beginning to doubt they were even looking in the right direction. Maybe they weren't even in the area. Sure those warehouses seemed a likely place for Paul Reynolds to keep them, that didn't mean he actually would. Hell, they didn't even know Paul Reynolds had anything to do with it. Perhaps he was dead after all, and there wasn't going to be a way for them to find out for sure. He felt like they could look for as long as they liked, but they weren't going to find anything. Bobby wasn't even sure there was anything to be found. Maybe he was wrong after all, maybe they were looking for the wrong Winchester.

'Johnny, shouldn't we look for Sam or something? We can at least narrow his position down' Bobby suggested, John just shook his head.

'No Bobby, he left us. He doesn't want us to come looking for him'

'Ya know that's not true'

'Yeah well…at least he's not in danger or anything. Unlike Dean and James. I can't waste valuable time looking for Sam. Besides, he's my son, even if he did hate everything I taught him, I know if he doesn't want to be found, there's no way in hell we're going to track him down.' John sighed. Bobby shook his head. Damn those Winchesters, they were sure going to be the end of him some day.

**-BYT-**

'You've got no idea where you came from?' Dean asked for what seemed like the hundredth time and once again Sam shook his head. He'd gone over it as many times himself, trying to figure out what way he went, but he didn't know, couldn't remember. And the scenery didn't seem very familiar either.

'Hey Sammy, next time you come to the rescue, leave breadcrumbs or something' Dean grinned. Sam glared at his older brother, he didn't think Dean would be back to being this annoying so soon.

'Ah shut up' He replied, which only made Dean laugh harder.

'I thought you were feeling like crap?'

'I could never feel too crappy to annoy my favorite little brother' That made Sam smile.

'You only have one little brother, no wonder I'm your favorite' He couldn't help but retort, that in turn made Dean snort.

'Hey Sam, serious now, how did you find us?' Dean asked, throwing Sam a sideway glance when he didn't reply immediately.

'Sam?'

'I uh… just stumbled upon you?' Sam answered hesitantly.

'What happened Sammy?' None of it was making any sense to Dean. First his little brother shows up where he and James were being held, their father and Bobby nowhere to be found. Sam didn't know where they were, nor how he actually got there himself and just so happened to end up where he and James were.

'It just…I don't really know how to explain it Dean' Sam said, looking at his brother pleadingly. He didn't want to talk about it. The events of that day hadn't yet sunk in and he hadn't figured out what exactly happened for himself, how was he supposed to explain it to anyone else, even Dean?

'What about you start at the beginning?' Sam sighed, so Dean really wasn't going to let him get away with it.

'Well, we did research, found these warehouses we were convinced this guy was keeping you two, came busting in, finding nothing whatsoever. And when we were standing there in the second warehouse I didn't know what to do. I was so sure you two were there, and then you weren't and then I don't know what happened, I just started running I guess, didn't stop until I reached that house. I don't know why, I don't know how, all I know is I got there and you two were there as well. Dean looked at his brother with growing concern as he shared the story. How could Sam have known where they were, and how to get there? Most importantly, was there something supernatural behind all that?

'Dean…' Sam begun, looking at his older brother with big, fearful eyes. Dean swallowed.

'It's okay Sam, I'm sure it's perfectly normal'

'It's not Dean, and we both know it. I'm a freak'

'Yeah, but it's not like we didn't already know that, now is it?' Dean tried to lighten the mood with a joke. He didn't like where Sam's mind was wondering.

'It's not normal Dean, and you know what dad always says' Sam finally confessed what he had been worried about. Dean sighed, so this is what it was all about.

'Sam, dad's not going to want to hunt you. He loves you. Besides I would never let anything happen to you' Dean answered in an attempt to ease Sam's worries, hoping that this would be the end of it for Sam, he was so not in the mood to argue about this. From the corner of his eyes he could see that there was something else Sam was going to say, but eventually decided against it.

'I could take him for a while' Sam said instead, motioning to James who was currently settled against Dean's chest, having buried his face in it as deep as he possibly could, hiding away from the rest of the world.

Dean nodded his head, James was beginning to get quite heavy and even though Sam hadn't said anything, he had noticed he had been moving from one side of the road to the other. He had difficulty focusing on where they were going. But as soon as James left his hands, he began screaming and trying to wriggle free from Sam's hands, who tightened his hold, a look of pain crossing his features as he did.

'It's okay James, it's only me, your uncle Sam' Sam tried to get James settled, but he wouldn't quiet down. He was looking at Sam, but Sam didn't think he was actually seeing him.

'James. Come on James, look at me' Sam spoke in a firm voice, but that didn't work either.

'Here, I'll carry him, that wriggling isn't going to do your arm any good' Dean decided, taking James back, who immediately stopped crying and wrapped his arms around his father's neck.

'You're okay James, nothing's going to happen to you anymore. You'll be just fine here with me and your uncle Sam.' He soothed, rubbing the little boy's back. 'Everything will be just fine, I won't let you go' He whispered, closing his eyes momentarily to push back the tears that had appeared as his son had cried upon being touched by somebody that wasn't his father.

They silently walked further, Dean pulling James even closer to him, Sam cradling his injured wrist to his chest, both lost in their own thoughts, not even noticing the truck that passed them, until it stopped and their names were called by a very familiar voice.

**-BYT-**

Bobby had decided to take matters into his own hands. He couldn't convince John to look for his youngest, so he'd do it himself. He had gotten into the car, leaving his friend behind to dig further, attempting to find whatever they had been missing the past few days. Bobby hadn't been able to convince John there wasn't anything to be found, so he would have to find out for himself.

Unsure where to begin his search Bobby had gone back to the warehouse where Sam had gotten away from them. He would use that as his centre point, and go in slowly widening circles. Surely he would find the kid then, probably slumped against one of these buildings, cheeks red in shame when he'd have to admit he had gotten hopelessly lost.

At least that's what he told himself about one and a half hour ago. It was taking him much longer than anticipated. Maybe John had been right, after all, Sam sure had inherited his father's stubbornness, and Bobby didn't doubt his abilities. If that boy didn't want to be found, he could drive around all he wanted, but he wouldn't find him. The only reason he was here, trying to locate the boy, was that he didn't really believe Sam didn't want to be found. And if that was the case, anything could've happened to him, Bobby would feel a hell of a lot better having Sam back at his house, safe and sound.

He had almost given up on his search, deciding to finish this round before making his way back. He had been thinking what to say to John to make himself seem like less an idiot. He saw two figures approaching, one of them not really steady on his feet, stumbling from side to side and the other one doing his best to keep the first one going in a straight line. Fully focused on finding Sam, alone, he didn't pay too much attention to their faces, only looking up for a second as he passed them. But he instantly recognized them, slamming the breaks he was out of the car before it had even gotten to a full stop.

'Sam? Dean?' The faces turned in his direction, a look of relief spreading across them as they recognized the family friend.

'Ya boys alright?' He asked as he came to a stop in front of the pair, taking in the sight of James and Dean, tear tracks staining James' cheeks and Dean's cheeks too pale to be healthy. His eyes were red and he was fidgeting.

'Ya on drugs Dean?' He asked, instantly recognizing the signs for what they were. Dean swallowed, but it was Sam who answered him.

'That guy gave him something, got him addicted to it I guess, and now I suppose his body is trying to get rid of it'

'What did he give him?' Bobby asked, Sam shrugged at the same time Dean opened his mouth.

'I'm right here you know, and I haven't swallowed my tongue or anything, so I can talk' He argued, lowering James to the ground, but the toddler only tightened his grip on his father's neck, refusing to let go of him.

'He gave ya cocaine, heroin?' Bobby asked, he needed to know if they were gonna help him get the stuff out of his system. 'Dean, I need to know' He pressed when Dean didn't answer immediately.

'I don't know, something they've been taken off the market, I can't remember whether he told me the name' Dean answered, cheeks turning slightly red in embarrassment at having to admit that.

'So prescription meds, we can work with that' Bobby stated, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt, but when Sam turned his big sad eyes on him, he knew that wasn't the case.

'But if they've been taken off the market, then doesn't that mean there's something wrong with it, and if there's something wrong with it, then doesn't that mean it's very dangerous?' Sam rambled, tears forming in his eyes, which he tried very hard to stop from falling.

'You worry too much Sammy' Dean tried to console, putting his free arm around his shoulder and squeezing slightly. Sam nodded and shrugged Dean's hand from his shoulder. He was doing it again, Dean was the one who was in trouble and yet he was trying to take care of his little brother, again. Well, Sam wasn't going to let him do that this time.

'Well, what are ya waiting for, let's get ya back home' Bobby said as he turned around and made his way back to the car, not even bothering to look back to see whether the boys were following him.

**-BYT-**

Bobby wanted to ask what had happened, and scold Sam for running away and worrying them, but he didn't think he could make the boys go through it twice. Instead he just threw glances to the boys cuddled up next to him as often as he could justify, keeping his eyes focused on the road just long enough to make sure they got home safely. The fact that both of them were uncharacteristically quiet only increased his worry.

'Bobby… do you think… my dad… is he… will he want to see me?' Sam stuttered, breaking the silence all of a sudden. Shocked Bobby turned to face him.

'Why the hell wouldn't yer daddy want to see ya boy?' He asked incredulously.

'Because I, well I sort of… ran off?' Sam explained, looking at Bobby sheepishly, eyes big in what his brother would call the puppy dog look.

'Yeah well, I've got something to say about that as well, but let's not get in to that right now. I will tell ya that yer daddy was more worried about ya than he'd ever admit. And he's anxious to have both his boys back with him.' Bobby spoke firmly, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him. 'As am I' He added quietly. Sam sighed, shoulders sagging a little. What Bobby said was probably true, his dad would never admit to being worried about him, even if he was. And he'd probably be happy they made it back, but that was not the John he knew. His father wasn't just happy he made it back in one piece, his father would make sure he'd never do anything like that again. And Sam surely didn't like his methods. Though he supposed he should be glad that his father cared enough for him to be worried like that.

'Sam, stop worrying. Yer daddy ain't gonna eat ya' What surprised Bobby most was that Dean kept quiet throughout the entire exchange, just stroking James' back, staring straight ahead. A lot must have happened these past few days and Bobby didn't doubt that drugs weren't the only problem here. Though neither Dean nor James seemed badly injured so it was probably shock and that scared him so much more than any kind of drug ever could, having been taken off the market or not. He was just going to have to make sure that the boys didn't figure that out.

**-BYT-**

Even though he had told Sam not to worry, Bobby himself was a little worried about John's reaction. The only way John knew to show how worried he had been was by getting angry and Bobby doubted that would be the right thing for either of the three boys currently sitting beside him in his truck. He took a deep breath as he pulled up beside the Impala and threw what he hoped was an encouraging glance in the direction of Sam. No more stalling now, he thought, opening the door and making his way to the front door. John must have been watching them approach as he threw the door open before Bobby or either of the boys had even reached the steps leading to the porch. For a moment Bobby thought he was going to run towards them, hoped for a big bear hug, but he knew he was kidding himself. Instead John leaned against the doorpost, waiting for them to get to the house. Watching his friend closely Bobby saw a look of relief crossing his face, only for a second or so before that look disappeared and his usual, stoic face was back. Once a Winchester, always a Winchester, he thought with a sigh.

'Dean, are you and James okay?' John asked as soon as they came within hearing distance. Dean nodded his head.

'Sort of, I suppose' He said before pushing past his father and rushing to the bathroom. He really needed the toilet, and he didn't want to explain everything that had happened right now. He just wanted to get a bath, he felt dirty, and James probably did too. And after bath he wanted to go to bed, and sleep properly for the first time in days.

John watched his oldest son go, mouth open, ready to question.

'Johnny, I know ya have tons of questions, but I don't think he's ready to answer any now. I'll tell ya what I know later.' John obviously didn't agree, but seemed to swallow back whatever it was that he wanted to say.

That too didn't surprise Bobby. What did surprise him was the arm that went around Sammy's shoulders and the hand that ruffled his hair a little, all without a word being said. Of course that would follow later, but for now it seemed they were going to be alright.

**_Epilogue_**

'Come on James, I'll show you how it's done' Dean tried to coach the quiet three year old. Life was on its way to go back to normal. He wasn't quite feeling the withdrawal effects any more, not the way he did only a few days back. Everything had ached, he didn't want to do anything else than lie in bed and he was constantly cold, shivering like there was no tomorrow. They had tried everything to get him warm, blankets, booze, but also, and Sam was going to give him hell for that one, warm water bottles. But nothing worked, and in the meantime he was trying to give James the impression he was perfectly fine. And didn't that work out great. If Bobby hadn't come and taken the toddler to play outside, in the park, well, Dean chose to not let his mind wander in that direction.

And now here he was, finally able again to get his thoughts in the right order, and trying to get James to open up again. He didn't know what exactly had happened to the boy and he wasn't sure he really wanted to know, all he knew was that he wanted the happy little boy back. And they were making progress, he answered when asked a question and would even smile a little every now and then. Sam, now sporting a brand new cast, had continued teaching him a few things and James had loved it. He hadn't shown it the way he had done before, wasn't as chatty and outgoing yet, but the beginning was there and Dean would take what he could get.

**-BYT-**

Sam was pleasantly surprised. He had thought his dad would hand him his head on a plate for running off, and in doing so putting himself, but also Dean and James, in danger. Though his father had given him a lengthy lecture, doing his best to stay calm, he had only yelled at him and let him off with the promise of extra laps and push- and sit ups once he was feeling better. Yeah, he had asked who this guy was and what he had done to his father, but he had refrained from any further commentary when the look on his father's face told him he was pushing it.

But the father he had known for years, all his life really, hadn't taken too long to get back out. Before he knew it, his father was talking about some hunt he had found somewhere. Secretly Sam had hoped that he would ask Bobby to call someone else to take care of it, because he had begun to really enjoy this new side of his father. But of course that wasn't the case. When Dean was feeling a little better and James was beginning to smile again as well, John had announced he was leaving. And he had done just that, leaving Dean, Sam and James with Bobby to try and pick back the pieces of their lives. Yeah, not much had changed, not much at all.

_So blow your tears into my face_  
_Sadness is for later days_  
_My angel_  
_And don't be sad my little one_  
_Life has only just begun_

**That was it, Blow your tears. I hope you liked it and I want to thank everyone for sticking with me, everyone that has read, reviewed or has put this story on alert. But these people I want to thank especially: BlueSteelLove1207, Bia1007, ohgravitysonfire, YohKo Bennington, samgirl19, BranchSuper and Arilaen. (hoping I'm not forgetting anyone, if so than I'm really sorry) You guys stuck with me and kept me writing, even when I didn't think I could continue this story. You guys are awesome! I owe you**


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